Lost Souls, Intertwined
by define-originality
Summary: Kelsie and her typhlosion have been together for 6 years, never separating. When a storm suddenly hits and separates them how will she cope? Her memory gone, she is forced to become a trainer to find her way back home and to find the best friend she lost.
1. Separated

_Note- before I start, I would like to add, although I enjoy the pokemon games, I am only familiar with the first and second generation. I don't have much experience with the others. I also have only seen the first movie and the first series of the cartoon, quite some time ago. I don't claim to be an expert on pokemon and if I write something about one that strikes you as odd, or whatever (such as behaviour-wise or speech-wise, etc) I apologize for getting it wrong. Like I've said, I am not an expert. Also, I am no expert on the towns. If I do mention them from a specific region, don't expect them to be accurate. I may refer to the game versions for the specifics. That said, I hope you enjoy reading : ) _

She had washed up on shore. You could hear the seagulls caw, as they flew above, circling her as though she were prey. She wasn't, of course.

The waves were calm. They gently lapped the sand and the tip of the girl's feet, every so often, as they swished back and forth as waves do. The sun was just beginning to rise. The pink haze in the bright blue sky looked so beautiful, welcoming, especially after the early darkness of last night. The harsh, heavy rain clouds had swallowed up the sky and the daunting clashes of lightning had chased the sun away, leaving the city covered in shadow and gloom. Now was the calm after the storm.

The girl wasn't dead. Just unconscious. She had been on a cruise ship, crossing the ocean, planning to travel the world. She was curious about everything that she came across, and when the pokemon craze had hit her town, naturally she became hooked too. Not to battle, like the others, but to nurture, care for, love. For companionship. As a result of this, she was given a cyndaquil, some six years ago, and they had never parted since. Their opposite personalities blended so well, particularly when it came to traveling. She would check the sights, discover the facts. Cyndaquil would keep danger at bay. He loved battling, he would, he was darn good at it. She, however, was afraid. Not of losing, not of failure, but she had been sheltered her whole life, and danger didn't appeal to her. She had broken free of her mother's sheltering arms, only to travel.

During these six years and the numerous trips they had taken, cyndaquil had evolved fully into a typhlosion. The girl simply adored him. Typhlosion, though rather restless at times, quickly learnt that she would not be persuaded into becoming a proper trainer and settled for scaring away stray, wild pokemon and protecting them both during their travels. Their bond was unbreakable. Until one night, whilst sailing to new land, a storm broke out, capsizing the boat and separating the two.

And now, the girl lay, motionless on the shore, her dark brown hair spread ruggedly over her face, her clothes ripped and her shoes missing. Her pokemon, was nowhere to be seen.

A couple of hours had passed. The sun was spreading warmth across the oceanfront. The girl still hadn't stirred.

A young boy and his vulpix had set off for a stroll, after being told not to stray too far from the farm he lived at with his mother and older brother. Everyday, the same old lecture; don't get into trouble, don't go too far, don't talk to strangers, it's dangerous, you're too young, your vulpix is too weak to fight off stray pokemon, etc, etc. He was only using vulpix as a pet after all. He and his brother had been bound to the farm, almost forced into inheriting it. It didn't bother the little boy, he like all the pokemon as pets, animals. They were friendlier. His brother, however, had other ideas for his future.

Many of the residents of this small town were already awake. They were used to early mornings. Many had to get up early to travel to the city for work. Across the stream from the little boys' family's farm was another, specializing in berries and seeds. They grew produce. There was an inn opposite the main farm, they too had to get up early to tend to customers. Further along, was a bar. The other buildings in this town were just houses, or what were used as houses. They still enjoyed waking early.

The young boy and his vulpix ran across the grass, his blond hair stirring in the wind, laughing, playing around. They tumbled to the ground, giggling and ended up rolling down the hill, crashing into a log at the bottom, getting rather muddy. The grass was still damp, drying slowly in the temperate sun, and had seeped through into the boys' shirt. He didn't seem to care.

They leant against the log, dusting what they could off of themselves. The vulpix washed itself with its tongue. The little boy copied with the mud on his arms. Not long after, they wandered over to the beach, hoping to play on the sand. They were stopped in their tracks, however, when they spotted the girl.

The vulpix ran over, nudging the still body with its head, presumably checking to see if she was alive. She was. Rolling onto her back, she spluttered, choking, and opened her eyes with a gasp. The boy hung back, watching from a distance. The girl sat up, her coughing ceasing, and looked around, scared and confused. Her mind swam, she blinked, trying to clear the haze. It was too thick to see through. Nothing was coming to her. No familiarity, no names, no faces. She had no idea where she was, how she got there or where she had come from. She didn't know who she was, or even her name. She didn't even know why she was on the beach, with some brown fox with orange hair and six orange tails, staring at her. For all she knew, she lived here.

"Are you ok?" The boy had come closer, but still approached cautiously. He looked rather timid. The girl gathered that they had never met, it was evident from the look on his face. This made her even more afraid. Her head began to buzz with questions. She felt alone, despite the fact that she actually was, but this loneliness was something more than just that, it was like she was missing something. Yes, she was missing her memory, or so it seemed, but, again, this was more. It was like she was missing something meaningful. She was missing a part of herself. Someone. A friend. She just didn't know what, or even, who.

The boy crouched down, looking into her eyes. "Are you lost?" He asked, his vulpix brushed its head against her knee, making a purring sound. "She likes you." He smiled. The girl stared back, blankly. "What's your name?" The girl shrugged, the look on her face suggested that she was trying to remember. She was rather pale, some cuts and scratches visible on her arms and face. The boy felt sorry for her. It looked like she had washed up on shore, from the sea, and couldn't remember anything. She was lost and hurt. Probably scared too.

The girl stroked the vulpix absent-mindedly. She had curled up into the girls lap and was purring away, contentedly. The little boy was surprised, his vulpix was usually as timid as he was. Unbeknownst to them all, the girl had quite a bond with fire pokemon. Spending six years with one would do that to you.

"Pedro!" A male voice sailed down to the beach. The boy looked up. "At last! There you are!" The older male ran down to his brother. He looks differed from the younger boys'. His hair was dark and, being older, his body was shaped. He looked strong, masculine. He spotted the girl and turned to his brother, rather sternly. "Mum wants you home. Now." The little boy, whose name was Pedro, stood up. The vulpix twitched her ears, gazing at the older male.

"But what about her?" Pedro asked, pointing to the girl.

"What about her?"

"She's lost. And hurt. We cant leave her J." Pedro whimpered, clutching his brothers' sleeve. "Vulpix likes her too." The older one didn't seem to care about any of this. He sighed irritably and pulled his sleeve back. He glowered at the girl, who seemed about his age, in her teens, and looked over his shoulder, at the farm.

"Maybe mum could take a look at her." He sighed again, ruffling up his hair. He wasn't keen on the idea. She was a stranger after all. But if she was lost and defenseless, then he couldn't just leave her there. Who knows what might happen. "Help me with her then." He helped her up and the two boys escorted her back to their mothers' farm, vulpix leading the way.

* * *

Typhlosion awoke, finding himself on strange land. He was alone, his trainer nowhere in sight. Black clouds were clustering in the sky, he needed to find shelter before it rained.

Before long, the typhlosion was settled in an empty cove, that was carved into some rocks. He was worried. His trainer wasn't here, she had ended up elsewhere, it seemed. She was alone without him to protect her. She could be injured, or in trouble, or worse. He didn't know. But he needed to find her.

Footsteps echoed in the darkness, as they entered the cave. Typhlosion looked up. Friend or foe? An orange glow suddenly illuminated the cramped space typhlosion was hiding in and two unfamiliar faces appeared before him. They were grinning evilly.

"Well look what we found, Chas." One of them sneered. "A rare pokemon."


	2. Memories, faded

"Hmm…" The doctor had been called and was now inspecting the girl, who was looking more lost and scared as ever. The boys' mother, Liana Rose, had fussed greatly over her as soon as she arrived, preening over her scratches and her tattered attire. She had set her beside the fire to warm her up and called the towns' doctor, Doctor Fletcher, immediately. "No lasting damage." He told them, the girl didn't appear to be listening. "Just a few abrasions from wild water pokemon it would seem. No hyperthermia or anything serious." He diagnosed, jotting it down in a notepad. Then he turned to the mother. She looked relieved.

"Anything you could prescribe for amnesia?" She asked, as Doctor Fletcher pulled her to the side. They glanced back at the girl, she was content enough, playing with the vulpix and the Roses' other pet-a growlithe.

The doctor shook his head. "She can't remember anything?" He asked, worried. This time, Liana shook her head. "No name, no place of residence?"

"No, I'm not even sure if she can talk." Liana's worry increased. "I want to help her, but how can I if I don't know where she came from. It's not like I can just ring her parents to pick her up. And I can't keep on calling her _her_, it feels degrading." The doctor put a hand on the kind woman's' shoulder and squeezed it gently to comfort her. Everyone in this town were close, considering it was only small. They all relied upon each other and helped out when they could.

"At least we know she's had experience with pokemon." Doctor Fletcher chuckled. The two fire pokemon were clambering all over the lost girl, playfully, licking her occasionally. She responded by rubbing their bellies, smiling from time to time. "You not found a pokedex or a trainer i.d card?" Liana shook her head once more. Both of the girls pockets had been torn, contents clearly spilt into the sea. She hadn't turned up with a bag. "Well get her changed out of those clothes and I'll come and check on her in the morning." The doctor bade them all farewell and left.

Liana asked her elder son, James, to set up the spare room for their guest. She had made it obvious that the girl would be staying till she found her memory, or remembered some contact details. James wasn't happy about this. He didn't like her. He was a reserved, quite boy, approaching mid teens, often brooding over his future. He wanted to be a world class trainer, just like everybody else, but perhaps not the champion. He had decided not to set his hopes too high too soon, take it little by little. His mother had stomped his dreams flat. He, being the eldest, was expected to inherit the farm, once his mother had passed, being as his father was no longer with them. James had argued that he would come back, when that time came, but his mother refused. She was convinced he wouldn't. His brother, Pedro, was quite content with working at the farm when he was old enough. He adored the farm pokemon they had.

James stomped upstairs, his mood reflecting his hair-dark. The townsfolk often commented on how little he looked like his mother. He took after his father, looks and mood alike. Liana and Pedro were quite the opposite, blond and bubbly. Huge hearts, so warm and welcoming. Whilst James was sorting out the spare room, Liana helped the girl into her room, offering her spare clothes. She seemed like she preferred trousers to skirts, so Liana had given her some jeans and a plain, white, cotton t-shirt. The girl smiled, briefly, in thanks.

"The bathroom's just through there, if you'd like a shower." Liana pointed to the door on the far side of the room. It originally looked like a cupboard, but now it was pointed out, you could see how it could transpire into a en-suite bathroom. "There are also some clean towels in there. Let me know when you're done." She smiled brightly and left the girl to her own devices. The girl sighed, searching her brain for something, anything. Her brain swirled like fog, the only things she remembered where the events that had taken place since she had been woken. She couldn't even recognize the face that stared back at her, blankly, in the mirror. That was worrying. Still, this family seemed nice enough, aside from James' sneers, they were kind enough to let her stay till she remembered something. And the things they mentioned as pokemon were nice too. She felt at ease with them, better. It was like they sparked something in her mind, something was fighting to come back, and the vulpix and growlithe helped with that.

Once she had showered and dressed, the girl re-emerged downstairs. James had gone out, sick of the farm. Pedro was curled up with his vulpix, seated in the armchair, watching some programme on pokemon. The growlithe, which the girl guessed was Liana's, due to the fact that it was getting on in years, was watching the little boy and his pokemon jealously. The girl walked up to Liana and handed her the rags that were once her clothes. Liana smiled again, trying to make the girl feel at ease, but she half thought that, maybe, she had lost how to speak along with her memory.

"Thank you." The girl had said, suddenly. Liana jumped, her mouth opened slightly, in shock.

"Y-you can talk!"

The girl nodded. "I'm sorry, I was scared. I can't remember _anything_." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you for your kindness, for letting me stay, even though I must just be a burden to you." Liana dismissed her last words and assured her she was very welcome. For a while, Liana had wondered if the lost girl was foreign and had wondered how they would be able to translate. English was her only language. Thankfully, she didn't need to worry about that now.

Liana watched the girl traipse back into the living room, and looked down at the tatters she was holding. The shirt was in tact slightly more than the trousers, and there was a tag sticking out of the top. A name tag. The words were faded and blurred slightly, but still readable. '_Kelsie_.'

Liana gasped. They had found a name. She called the girl back into the kitchen and showed her. "Is this your name?" She asked. It rang no bells. However, seeing as they were the girls clothes, it was decided that Kelsie was in fact the girls' name.

* * *

There was a struggle. The two men, one named Chas, the other unknown, had pounced on the typhlosion. It roared instantly, clawing and biting, producing flames to burn the men whenever it could. More often than not, however, he ended up getting himself. Now roaring in pain, he struggled more. The men retreated, letting go only to release their own pokemon.

The typhlosion was alarmed. Never before had he encountered an attack like this. He had battled wild pokemon who strayed his and his trainers' way, and on occasion, he had battled the odd trainer who challenged them when they had traveled city to city, country to country, region to region. But never had anyone forced themselves on them, for malicious purposes. The typhlosion had started off worrying that his trainer needed him. But now, it transpired that he needed his trainer. Urgently.

It also came to his attention that his pokeball was lost. Did this mean, seeing as he had no trainer present or even on the same island as he, nor a usable pokeball, that he was able to be captured? He didn't want to be caught, he liked his trainer. Though they rarely battled, they were a team. No, they were more than that, they were friends. Best friends.


	3. The farm

Later on, Pedro decided to show Kelsie around the farm. Having been told by his Mother not to press on about Kelsies' memory, he became fascinated by her and enjoyed watching her to see if she showed any signs of recollection. She didn't. Instead she showed signs of being slightly freaked out by the little six year old boy watching her. It was then that Liana had suggested that Pedro should show Kelsie the farm, seeing as James had skulked off.

Pedro was delighted in his duty. He took the older girls' hand and led her to the barn, his vulpix following. "Does she always follow you?" Kelsie asked, laughing at the vulpix wrapping herself around Kelsies' legs. The vulpix had taken to her greatly, surprisingly. Pedro had already explained that she was usually quite guarded and shy. She was pretty young, just like him. Liana had added, with a laugh, that they were both a handle too.

Pedro nodded, letting go of Kelsies' hand and picking his pokemon pet up. She nestled into his arms, eyes fixed on Kelsie, not glaring, but full of warmth. "She likes you." He said, not for the first time today.

"Why doesn't your brother have one?" Kelsie asked. They had reached the barn now. It seemed odd that both Liana and Pedro had a pokemon, albeit as a pet, but still, whilst James didn't.

"He wanted one to battle," Pedro opened the door and led Kelsie inside. She gasped in amazement at all of the miltank. There were at least ten. Before she was shown around, Liana had explained to Kelsie that they raised pokemon, as well as milked miltank for moomoo milk. It explained why they had so many pokemon on the farm. They had a stable full of rapidash and ponyta, and the odd stantler. In the barn there were the miltank and a handful of tauros, that were let out to graze during the day. There was a pen full of doduo and dodrio. There was an aviary full of pidgey and spearow and a few hoothoot. Another barn full of mareep and flaaffy. A pond for the farfetch'd, psyduck and the few golduck they had, which were kept in a second pen, to play. A cleffa, igglybuff, meowth and houndoom pottered around the farm too, though they were all pets. Incidentally, the houndoom had just given birth to a litter of houndour puppies, which were nestled up in the corner of the barn. "But Mummy said no."

"Huh?" Kelsie was brought back to reality, staring at the little boy.

"Mummy said J wasn't allowed to battle, so she didn't give him any pokemon." Pedro stared back, innocently, still holding his vulpix. They wandered out into the pasture, letting the tauros and miltank out with them. "Mummy doesn't know, but he goes out trying to find someone who will give him one. To battle with." Kelsie got the impression that all of the pokemon here on the farm were either very young (or old in the growlithe's case) or not trained to battle. Except for the farm animals. But Liana had them all counted and would surely notice one missing.

"Why?" Kelsie asked, being led over to the mareep barn.

"Why what?" Pedro looked up at her, blankly.

"Why won't your Mum let James be a trainer?" The mareep and flaaffy, too, were let into the pasture to graze. The other pokemon had already been let out. Kelsie looked around at them all. They were all so peaceful, they made her feel happy. Again, that feeling of trying to remember something, niggled in her.

"She doesn't want him to leave." Pedro let his vulpix go. It ran over to the growlithe, who had followed them outside, and they started playing in the dirt track. There was a note of finality in Pedro's' voice, that didn't make Kelsie press the conversation further. Maybe he didn't like talking about this subject, or maybe he just didn't know any more than that. She left it alone anyway.

Later that day, after dinner, Kelsie had wandered back down to the beach. She watched the sun slowly disappear, the colours of pink, white, orange and blue mixing in the sky, it was pretty and rather calming. For, what seemed, the thousandth time that day, she found herself trying to remember what had happened to her, and why her memory was gone. Liana had mentioned that it had to be something horrific, too terrible to remember, and her memory had tried to repress it, but it had backfired and ended up with her losing her memory. Either that or Kelsie had suffered a serious head injury. Either way, it was something bad.

She sighed, huddling herself up so she could rest her chin on her knees. She shivered, it was cold, but she was quite content sitting here, feeling numb, just focusing on the sky. She was away from James' glares, away from Pedro's' probing eyes and silent questions. Away from Lianas' worried glances.

"Here." Kelsie looked up. James had been watching her from a distance. He had seen her shiver a few times and had now approached her, offering his hoody. She took it cautiously and pulled it on over her head. It was warm and smelt like dirt. Had he been getting into scrapes, rolling around on the ground? It didn't look dirty.

"Thanks." She returned to look at the sky. James sat down beside her. This unnerved her a little. He had spent most of the day giving her funny looks, like he resented her, and now he was being kind. Why? And why had he followed her out here?

"Remembered anything yet?" He asked, suddenly.

Kelsie shook her head. "Trying to get rid of me?" She hadn't meant it to sound sour, but she had a feeling that it had across like that. James looked quite startled by that comment. He turned to face her, a look of concern on his face. It was the most humane Kelsie had seen him.

"What makes you say that." His throat stuck. Had he really given her the impression he hated her? He hadn't meant to.

"The looks you give me." She didn't look at him. She didn't move at all, just remained staring, rather blankly, into the air. Finally she spoke again, just as he had opened his mouth to retaliate. "You look like you really resent me. Like I've done something wrong…" Her voice broke. "…I-I… I just want to remember." She whispered.

"Sorry." He whispered back, feeling incredibly guilty. He hadn't meant to come across nasty. "Since Dad left, I've felt like I had to protect them…" His voice broke too. It clearly was a lot to burden, taking on looking after his family so young. "…You were a stranger, you could have done anything."

"I understand." A weak smile broke out on Kelsies' face. The resumed looking away, the silence washing back over them.

Half an hour later, when James had started to get cold, they made their way back to the farm. The sky had turned a deep blue by now, the street lights were starting to come on, dots of yellow in the otherwise dark blue town. As usual, the town remained calm and quiet, people hurrying home from work or shopping.

"Does she find it hard to cope?" Kelsie asked, as they reached the gate. James gave her blank stare. "Your Mum. Is that why she's scared to let you go, because she can't cope alone?" James had never thought about that. Instead of wondering about how Kelsie had found out, he thought about what she had said. Was she right?

"There you are!" Liana hurried towards them, before giving James a chance to dwell, she looked relived. "I was worried about you, you shouldn't be disappearing off like that! Especially you dear." She addressed Kelsie. She realized that wandering around a strange town with no recollection of anything could be dangerous, but only slightly. Still, Liana was being kind enough to let her stay, so she decided not to press it.

*

"Return." The gengar and machamp returned to their pokeballs in a flash of red light. The typhlosion, already greatly weakened by the sea, lay on the sandy ground of the alcove, unconscious. It had been too weak and tired to defend itself from the two pokemon.

The guys sneered, evilly, and hurried over to the typhlosion, tying rope around its legs, almost making to leashes. One for each of them to carry.

"Nice one Anson." Chas cackled, pretty pleased with himself. "This pokemon is sure to fetch us a packet." The man, named Anson, chuckled too and the two off the set back off to their hideout, dragging the typhlosion behind them.


	4. Flashbacks

The doctor arrived bright and early, the next morning. Kelsie hadn't slept so well. She had had dozens of nightmares of boats, waves and suffocation. Voices, saying things that couldn't be comprehended. Blurred images flittered past, like a movie stuck on fast-forward. Screams, roars, cries.

Now she was sat in the kitchen, a doctor and a mother talking about her, examining her, observing her every movement carefully, whilst her mind fogged with a heavy longing for sleep. Her body felt heavy too, like a brick in water. Fatigue was kicking in more than ever.

"Hmm…" Doctor Fletcher watched Kelsie try to stifle a yawn. "Nightmares?" Kelsie had explained why she wasn't quite 'with it' this morning, she had hoped that these dreams had, perhaps, meant something. And, by the look on the doctors' face, it appeared, maybe, they did. "Possibly, your memory is slowly coming back to you." He suggested, frowning slightly. "Transient amnesia can range in duration from hours to months, depending on the cause and severity. We can't be exactly sure as to how severe your accident was."

"Transient amnesia?" Liana asked.

"Temporary memory disturbances." Doctor Fletcher replied. "Given that your memories are trying to breakthrough, I would say it's short-term." He stood up, gathering his things and then smiled, encouragingly, at the two women. "Give it a day or two, I reckon." Liana thanked him and led him to the door. Kelsie remained seated, processing the information. In a few days time, possibly through her dreams, her memory would come back? She hoped so.

"So you'll be gone soon?" James stuck his head round the door, grinning. He had been listening in to the conversation, it seemed.

"You sound so hopeful." She had relaxed, a little, around James since last night, but was still pretty apprehensive as to how he felt about her staying here. Especially when he made comments like that.

James shrugged, sitting down opposite Kelsie. "Gets Mum off my back, you being here. Allows me to disappear without being noticed. I'll miss that." Kelsie laughed. Maybe he wasn't sounding hopeful, after all. It was an odd take on having some random stranger turn up at your house with memory loss.

"Well, isn't that good news?" Liana beamed, coming back to the kitchen. "Your memory loss isn't permanent, after all! Hopefully, you'll be remembering things soon enough!" She bustled around the room, starting to make breakfast. "You're looking rather peaky though, in fact you look positively exhausted. Perhaps you should go back to bed for an hour or two?" She scrutinized Kelsie carefully and, before giving her a chance to answer, shooed her back upstairs to bed.

Later that day, Kelsie wandered around the farm. She had decided to spend some time with the pokemon, seeing as they seemed to make her feel… at ease.

The houndoom, who had recently given birth, was still in the barn with her litter. She looked up at Kelsie, as she approached, watching her apprehensively. Kelsie sat down, and cautiously put her hand out to stroke her. The houndoom let her, but kept her eyes on the girl.

"It's ok." She cooed, calmly, almost soothingly. "I won't hurt you or your litter."

After a while, the houndoom relaxed, and Kelsie was on the floor, laughing, with the houndour puppies scrambling all over her.

There was a snigger. Kelsie looked up and saw James standing in the doorway of the barn, grinning. He walked over to them and knelt down. Kelsie smiled, blushing. The houndour puppies jumped off of her and scurried back to their mum.

"Having fun?" James asked, helping Kelsie up.

"Yeah." She brushed herself down, the colour in her cheeks returning to normal. "They're cute, is your mum going to sell them?"

"Yep. I think she's keeping one though." James studied Kelsies' face, carefully. She was staring at the litter, adoration set on her face. "Did you want one?"

"I have no money remember." She elbowed James, playfully, in the ribs and walked back outside. The sun was high in the sky, emitting strong rays of heat. Kelsie felt herself start to sweat already, due to the lack of wind. "Don't the pokemon mind this sort of weather."

"Believe it or not, it's actually cooler outside than in the barn." James joined her, jogging to keep up with her head start. "I just wondered why you were hiding away, playing with the houndoom and her litter."

"I'm not hiding. I just prefer being with the pokemon."

"Ouch, does my company not enthrall you?"

Kelsie narrowed her eyes at him, slightly bemused. "Not after your strange behaviour." She chuckled, finally turning to face him. "What exactly do you want James?"

"Nothing…" He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. Kelsie found it amusing. "I just wanted to see how you were. You know, after your nightmares."

"I'm fine. I'll be out of here, out of your way pretty soon, at this rate." Kelsie turned and headed back to the house. James ran after her.

* * *

_Gentle rocking, calming waves brushing the side of the boat, joyful voices chatting distantly, all soothing noises to be greeted by when someone awakes._

_A pair of eyes opened, removing the veil of darkness, and was greeted by light, shining in through a small porthole. A seagull cawed, also sounding quite cheerful, marking the dawning of a beautiful day. Things, however, aren't always as they're seemed to be…_

_After a few blinks, to get used to the blinding light, a cabin room came into view. A desk, compass, map and notes scattered upon it. Shelves, a suitcase, closed, nestled in the middle one, a backpack on the top shelve, opened, clothes streaming out of it. And, of course, a door, leading to an en-suite, consisting of a toilet, sink, shower, and a small mirror._

_The eyes were moving, clearly the occupant was walking, towards the half-opened door. The light flickered on and all the eyes saw was a pair of brilliant blue eyes, before everything went misty._

_Kelsie…_

_The haze cleared and the eyes made out the outline of a tiny room. coloured blue. They were back in the bathroom._

_Kelsie…_

_Someone was calling a name, the voice sounded faint, it was far away, very far away._

_Kelsie…_

_The mist was back again, the surroundings were fading away. The eyes could only make out some grayish fog, that was darkening every second._

_Kelsie…_

_Kelsie…_

"Kelsie… Breakfast is ready dear!" Liana's voice drifted up the stairs, pulling Kelsie out of her dream. Or was it a vision? She couldn't remember, the contents were slipping fast.

Over the next couple of days, Kelsie developed a kind of routine. She would awake, either due to Liana's call of breakfast, or early, due to a hazy dream/nightmare, that could be her memory trying to break through.

She would dress, wash and eat and then help Liana, and often, Pedro, out on the farm, collecting the moomoo milk, feeding the pokemon, and other various tasks. After, she would either spend the rest of the afternoon talking to the pokemon, her favourites were the mareep and the houndoom and her litter, or sitting on the beach, gathering her thoughts. The information she had was scarce, but there were many predictions she could invent.

Towards evening she would go and look for James. This started with an order from Liana, who had been fretting about where her eldest son had gone, and what he was doing. The result had amused Kelsie, and she had gone every night since, to watch.

The result was that James had persuaded his 'friends' to try and catch him a wild pokemon. 'Friends' being some boys who lived in the village, younger than himself, who had pokemon through parents or as pets. Weaker pokemon such as a baby meowth or teddiursa.

Then it was dinner and off to bed. Sometimes the dreams took place, never divulging anymore than usual. Sometimes, nothing happened.

* * *

_Gentle rocking, calming waves brushing the side of the boat, joyful voices chatting distantly, all soothing noises to be greeted by when someone awakes._

_A pair of eyes opened, removing the veil of darkness, and was greeted by light, shining in through a small porthole. A seagull cawed, also sounding quite cheerful, marking the dawning of a beautiful day. Things, however, aren't always as they're seemed to be…_

_After a few blinks, to get used to the blinding light, a cabin room came into view. A desk, compass, map and notes scattered upon it. Shelves, a suitcase, closed, nestled in the middle one, a backpack on the top shelve, opened, clothes streaming out of it. And, of course, a door, leading to an en-suite, consisting of a toilet, sink, shower, and a small mirror._

_The eyes were moving, clearly the occupant was walking, towards the half-opened door. The light flickered on and white walls filled the eye's vision. A mirror twinkled in the light, catching the eye's…well eye._

_Brilliant blue eyes, shoulder-length copper hair, fair skin, deep red lips, a face stared back at the pair of eyes she now realized was hers. She looked happy, healthy, relaxed. There were no worry lines creased into her forehead. No purple coating surrounding her eyes, making them sunken. Just a normal face._

_The eyes closed as cool water covered the face, removing traces of dirt, and sleep. It was refreshing._

_After a few minutes, she was dressed, washed and was heading out of her cabin. Passengers smiled as she passed, all very friendly. The salty air filled her lungs as she took her first step outside. It was welcoming, pleasant._

"_Ah, Miss Knight…" The steward smiled, spotting her. "Your pokemon is with the others, out on the deck…"_


	5. More insight

'_Pokemon… I have a pokemon._' Kelsie thought. She was back on the beach, just as it was breaking dawn, having awoken early from her latest flashback. Her mind flittered through what she had seen, what she had held onto, anyway.

"_Ah… Miss Knight…_"

Knight… Her last name was Knight. Kelsie Knight. It fitted well.

She was on a ship, a cruise ship. Not one of those luxury liners that were huge, but a small one. She clearly didn't have much money. Trainers didn't, though. She had assumed she was a trainer, she had a pokemon. A single one, but a pokemon. What other reasons would there be? Well… there could be a few, but Kelsie disregarded the rest.

Other details were unclear, however. Which pokemon did she have? Where was her pokemon now? Where was she headed? Where had she come from? Many other questions popped into her head, ones she couldn't answer. Ones she wanted to answer.

Hours later, Kelsie was in the bedroom she was borrowing, curled up on the bed, caught up in a pokemon book. She had raided James' room and found many books on pokemon species, trainers and all sorts of other fascinating information a trainer would need. Still believing that she was a trainer, Kelsie had gotten stuck in, preparing herself for when her memory refreshed and she had to get back out there.

This break in the routine had worried Liana. Over the last few days Kelsie had been quite chatty and open, flourishing well from when she had first arrived. Now, it felt like she was withdrawing back into her shell, so to speak. She consulted Doctor Fletcher, after finishing her chores, and told him about her worries. He reassured her, by saying that he was sure that everything was ok, but if it made her feel better, he would pop round and find out what was wrong. It would.

"Kelsie?" The doctor stuck his head around the door and smiled. Kelsie had never noticed how young he looked before. Her previous encounters weren't very good memories, the first she was scared and confused, she hadn't taken in her surroundings, just let everything wash over her. The second, she was overcome with fatigue, tired and full of thoughts of her first flashback.

Now, she had time to take everything in. And looking at the doctor, it was like looking at him for the first time, like she had with Liana and Pedro, a few days ago. He was young, early twenties, perhaps, smooth, shaven face, dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. His hair was like James', long and tousled, it had the look of having a hand brushed through it many times. It was a blondish colour, dirty blond. His eyes were friendly, which made it easy for his patients to trust him, a light hazel colour, with an almond shape.

His smile was warm, it reached his eyes. The first thought Kelsie had, after staring at his features for a while, was that he must have a lot of patients crushing on him.

She shook her head, shaking away the random, strange thought. "Something wrong?" Doctor Fletcher dropped his smile and entered the room, looking a little concerned. "Liana said that you have been withdrawing yourself today." It came as no surprise that the doctor had addressed Liana by her first name. Kelsie had soon learnt how close this village was, how everybody was, not just acquaintances, but friends.

"I'm fine." Kelsie put the book down, and sat up straight. She felt slightly uneasy being left alone with the doctor, after all, he was still just a stranger to her.

"Thinking of becoming a trainer?" The doctor chuckled, spotting the books scattered on the bed. Kelsie blushed a little. "Nothing wrong with that, but shouldn't we try to uncover your memory first?"

"It's been coming back, slowly…" She explained all about the boat. Doctor Fletcher listened intently, seemingly pleased with how well the recovery was coming along.

* * *

"_Kanto is just to the east." A steward came into view, smiling, leaning against the railing, looking out to sea. He gestured for the eyes to join him and the eyes bobbed closer. The sea glistened in the sun, sparkling like diamonds, gently pushing against the side of the boat. The eyes saw a hand, the stewards', point something in the distance, it was a speck from this view, but it was clearly land. The Kanto region._

"_Your father told me of your intentions for traveling." The steward continued. "I must admit, I was rather surprised. Traveling to a region full of pokemon and pokemon trainers, just to sight-see? That's rather odd Miss Knight."_

_She turned, the eyes were now observing the tall man stood at her side. He knew her father, how? "It's always fascinated me." She spoke. "There are many landmarks, not just for pokemon trainers, that interest me. My typhlosion will protect me if we happen to encounter any trainers or wild pokemon." The steward nodded, perhaps at a loss of what to say. _

* * *

"So you're not a trainer… How odd." It was the next morning, and Kelsie had left the farm early to talk to Doctor Fletcher. He was staying in the inn, across from the Roses' farm.

He had been startled to find the girl knock on his rooms' door so early, looking concerned, but pleased that answers were starting to seep through. He had ushered her in and offered her some tea. She had enlightened the doctor of her recent dream and they were soon discussing it.

"I know… I wonder why I have a pokemon, though." Have. Kelsie, despite not knowing where her pokemon had ended up, still regarded herself as having a pokemon. "A typhlosion." She thought back to the books she had read the day before. Typhlosion somewhat resembled a bear in physique, the front of its body a cream colour, the back a dark blue. Around its neck was a ring of fire, worn like a collar. The book had said that typhlosion was the final evolved form of cyndaquil. It was strange, if she wasn't a trainer, then Kelsie wondered how she had managed to end up with a typhlosion, without training a cyndaquil up. Perhaps, she had been given the typhlosion fully evolved.

"Kanto, eh?" The doctor's voice brought her back to the present. He was looking thoughtful. "You know, I came from Kanto. My home town. I often travel back there to visit."

"Really?" Kelsie feigned interest. Truth be told, she was more interested in mulling over her recollections.

"Yes, it's not that far from here. it's a short trip north. Separated by the sea." Doctor Fletcher frowned, something he tended to do whilst thinking. "Perhaps your pokemon ended up there. Either that or Johto, that's just west of Kanto. Your boat could have capsized between this island and the pokemon regions." That made some sense. Kelsie pondered on the thought. "I wouldn't go floundering off just yet." It was as though he had read her mind. Kelsie looked up, confused. "Your memory hasn't fully recovered, it's dangerous to go out there, unprotected, just searching for a pokemon. You should wait, remember everything and then maybe you could call your dad. Ask him to go look for the pokemon." Again, he made sense.

"You're right," Kelsie put down her tea cup, she had raised it out of politeness, pretending to drink. She hadn't actually touched a drop. She didn't really like tea. "Thank you for your help, Doctor Fletcher." She raised from her seat, ready to leave.

"You're welcome, Miss Knight." The doctor smiled, deciding to be formal, now that he could. He lead her to the door and opened it for her. "Any time you need to talk, you know where I am."

"Where have you been!" Liana screeched, just as Kelsie entered the house. Liana's usually rosy cheeks were pale, and lines were etched in her forehead. Worry lines. Kelsie hadn't realized she had been gone so long.

"Mum's been doing her nut." James hissed, rolling his bright blue eyes. Extremely bright, they were like a cartoon-character blue, Kelsie had never noticed before.

"Anything could have happened, ANYTHING!" Her voice rose, her arms flailed. Kelsie was touched, she wasn't even family, she was just a stranger, and yet, here was the woman who had taken her in and looked after her when she needed it, worrying about her. It was sweet.


	6. Answers

**Note- Thank you to So-they-say for reading and reviewing, it means a lot! Thank you for adding this story to your favourites too! Hope this chapter isn't too confusing like my earlier ones. Finally some answers!**

_Different visions blurred past. A young girl with copper hair and blue eyes, cuddling up to an eevee. A man, tall in height, sitting behind her in an armchair, reading a newspaper. 'Johto News' it read. The man looked quite young, early thirties, his hair the same colour as the little girls'. His eyes, however, were green, emerald, and hidden behind reading glasses._

_A moving van, a different location, the same girl, older, and the same man, stood outside a new house. A woman was with them, clearly the mother. She had long blonde hair, that glimmered in the sunlight. Her face was etched with kindness, her features were soft. Her skin looked like a porcelain dolls', creamy white and…perfect. Her eyes were blue, ice blue. She stood over her daughter with a protective air. _

_The same girl, even older, around twelve or thirteen, receiving a pokemon from the man. Her father. A cyndaquil, a little creature, resembling a shrew or a mouse, the same colours as typhlosion. Its back had four orange-red spots dotted about, each containing fire that erupted when needed. It was small and shy. Taking quickly to its new owner._

_The cyndaquil fighting a wild pokemon- a pidgey, a small brown and cream bird. Its trainer off in the distance, examining some ruins. _

_The cyndaquil evolving into a quilava. The owner rejoicing, pleased for her companion. _

_Another evolution. The typhlosion taking form. The trainer, older now, fifteen, sixteen, extremely happy. _

_Each vision divulging tidbits of information. They continued, each taking place at different times._

*

It was midnight. Kelsie had fallen asleep early, and was now awake, her head throbbing. Too much information for the brain to handle at one time.

A fair few questions had been answered. They had lived in Johto, Kelsie, her father, her mother and their pet eevee. As she thought about that, it surprised her that extra information penetratedher mind. Her father was called Stephen Knight. Her mother was Olivia Knight, the famous pokemon accessory designer. They had uprooted themselves and their daughter, four years after Kelsie was born, to a remote island, south of the pokemon regions. There Stephen had set up his own business, consisting of holiday packages, cruises, airlines, etc. After a few years, they had both become reasonably wealthy, funding their daughters' desire to travel. Having no pokemon of his own, Kelsie's father called in a favour from an old friend, Professor Elm, to give his daughter a pokemon, to assist on her travels and to protect her. Giving her any means of transport to any destination, she began her journeys, staking out famous and alluring landmarks.

Her pokemon had began as a cyndaquil. A young one at that. Kelsie had never trained it herself, but growing bored of staring at landmarks, it had wandered off to battle strays. Often pulling her in the direction of trainers, just to battle. They were content, best friends, helping each other when needed.

Where was he now? Washed up in Kanto or Johto? Kelsie prayed that he was ok, alive. Being as he was a fire pokemon, the sea would have caused great damage to him and this bothered Kelsie very much. She needed to find him and fast.

"Kelsie?" Liana looked up, as Kelsie ran down the stairs. She had fallen asleep in her armchair whilst reading, and the sound of Kelsie's footsteps had awoken her. "Where are you going?"

Kelsie suddenly realized she hadn't explained anything to the kind woman who had taken her into her home and had helped her to recover her memory. Surged with guilt, Kelsie paused and took a seat on the sofa, opposite the sleepy woman. She had wanted to speak to Doctor Fletcher urgently, but that would have to wait. He had probably gone to bed anyway.

"It's a long story…" Kelsie warned. Liana leaned closer and wiped the sleep dust from her eyes. The sleepy look had disappeared and was replaced with a look of intent. She urged Kelsie to go ahead. Kelsie did so, explaining all about her recurring dreams that had brought back her memories and what she and the doctor had talked about. She explained her most recent one, and that, although she wasn't exactly sure of what had happened on the ship, she had recovered her memory. She knew who she was, where she came from and where she was going. She explained that she needed to talk to Doctor Fletcher about Kanto and Johto, she needed to find her pokemon.

"Wait a minute…" Liana stopped Kelsie for a few minutes, trying to get her head around all the information she had been given. "You remember… everything?"

"Except for as to why I ended up washed up on shore."

"And now you want to go and look for your pokemon? And you want Doctor Fletcher to help you?"

"Yes."

"No." Liana replied. Kelsie looked confused. Surely her was her right to leave, as this wasn't even her home? "I'm sorry Kelsie, but I think we should inform your parents of this. They must be very worried about you. It's been almost a week since you ended up here and they've heard nothing from you." She got up, pulled Kelsie up too and ushered her into the kitchen where the phone was.

Kelsie picked up the phone, pausing before she dialed. She was unsure of what to say. She didn't want her mother to insist that she had to come straight back home, or her father to insist he would send someone to look for her typhlosion. She wanted to do that herself. Now that she had remembered, she became aware of how much she missed him.

Liana's eyes were boring into the back of Kelsie's head, waiting. Kelsie sighed and dialed the numbers, she was surprised to find she remembered them.

*

Her parents had fretted. They were so relieved that Kelsie was ok, they had ordered her to come straight home, just as she thought. They had said they were going to send someone straight over to collect her. Kelsie had refused. She had explained all about the typhlosion, and after much deliberation, they had agreed. On the condition that Kelsie had to wait there for supplies to arrive and they wanted to talk to Liana.

Liana took the phone, looking puzzled. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Knight." She sounded apprehensive. She needn't be, however. Stephen and Olivia thanked her over and over again, promising her a reward for looking after their daughter. Liana refused, claiming it was no trouble at all.

After a while, Liana came off the phone smiling. "We have come to an arrangement." She sat down at the kitchen table, opposite Kelsie. "I understand your parents' worries and I have agreed to give you a pokemon, to help you on your journey. We all know that you have no desire to become a trainer, but in order to find your typhlosion, you do realize that you have to?" Kelsie nodded. She wasn't too eager, but her ponderings over the pokemon books had gotten her excited somewhat. She was prepared.

"Good." Liana continued. Her face had drained and she looked scared, worried. "Kelsie, in order for your parents to be satisfied with your safety, they wanted to send someone to assist you on your journey. I came up with a better idea." Liana swallowed a lump in her throat. "I understand that I must let James go, allow him to follow his own dreams. It isn't fair to keep him here, to tend to the farm, against his own will. So I've decided. James will travel with you. It will give him the chance to become a trainer and he can look after you too. Your parents have agreed." Liana hung her head, her blonde hair swinging down to veil her eyes. Perhaps she was crying. Kelsie patted her arm, trying to comfort her. She knew how hard it must have been for Liana to let her eldest son go. She was very grateful for everything Liana had done for her, and for everything she was still doing.


	7. A houndour named Rex

Later that morning, James had been informed as to what was planned. He looked at Kelsie and his mother in disbelief, this was a joke surely? His mother was actually allowing him to go off and become a trainer? On the condition he had to look after Kelsie, but that was just a minor downside.

Liana said she had a surprise for the both of them and told them to wait in the kitchen. Pedro stared up at his brother in awe. His brother was leaving? "I'll miss you." He whimpered quietly, rushing over to his elder brother and hugging him tight. James tried to act cool, but he hugged back just as tight, tears forming in his eyes.

"And I'll miss you Kelsie." Pedro gave her a watery smile and a hug also. Kelsie was touched. She ruffled Pedro's hair and promised she would write. The vulpix padded over too and Kelsie made a fuss of her as well. She really would miss this family.

"Cheer up." James elbowed them both. "We're staying here for a few days still, we've got to wait for your stuff, remember?" This cheered Pedro up no end. He vowed they would spend all of their remaining time together. Kelsie giggled, James groaned, he wished he hadn't said anything.

"Close your eyes…" Liana's voice floated in the kitchen. James and Kelsie glanced at each other, bewildered. "…I'm not coming in till you do!" Kelsie shut her eyes immediately. James followed suit, but reluctantly. Liana winked at her youngest son and put a finger to her lips to shush him. He had gone to squeal in delight at the surprise.

James felt something nudge his feet. He squinted down and spotted a small black dog with pointy ears. On its back were two silver stripes, like 3-D metal bands. There were also four similar silver bands, like shackles, wrapped around each of the ankles. Its face was half covered by a skull-like silver mask. Its muzzle and underbelly were an orange-brownish colour. It was one of the baby houndours.

"It's yours!" Liana beamed, as James knelt down to stroke it. "He's a he."

James was speechless. "Mine… my own…?"

"You'll need a pokemon for your quest. I thought it would be better if you had a younger one. It will listen to you better till you get some badges."

"Aww…" Kelsie had finally opened her eyes and was smiling down at James and his brand new pokemon- houndour. "Are you going to name him?"

"No." James scoffed. "He's not a pet. What would I call him? Rover? Spot? Fido? Rex?"

"Actually, I quite like those last two names…" Liana chuckled, Kelsie agreed.

"Hello little Rexy." Pedro patted the houndour on the head, quite like a puppy he licked the little boy's knee. He seemed friendly enough.

"He is not called Rex!" Houndour looked up at the use of the name Rex. He wagged his tail.

"Your pokemon disagrees." Kelsie tittered, as James picked the houndour up. He had taken to him already. "He likes the name Rex."

"Do you?"

"…Houndour." His tail wagged again. James took that as a yes. He was disgruntled, but he couldn't argue.

All this time Kelsie and James hadn't noticed Liana's choice of pokemon for Kelsie. It was sat at Kelsie's feet, waiting patiently. It looked like a small sheep. Its head and legs were blue and its wool was yellowy-cream. It had black and yellow striped ears and tail, with an orange sphere placed on the end of its tail. It was a mareep, one of the farm pokemon Kelsie had been so fond of.

Liana cleared her throat and nodded at the mareep. Kelsie and James' eyes followed. "Oh!" Kelsie cried. She slowly bent down and reached out to stroke the little mareep. It timidly came closer. "Its such a shy little thing! So cute!"

"She is a she."

"She…" Kelsie repeated. She brushed her wool, cooing over her.

"What are you going to name her?" James mocked.

"Don't be daft, I'm not naming her!"

"What!?! After all the teasing you all gave me?!?"

"Now, now, you two." Liana handed them each a pokeball for their pokemon. "James, we didn't tease you, you came up with Rex yourself. Kelsie has every right not to name her pokemon, if she doesn't want to." Kelsie stuck her tongue out, James sulked.

Kelsie's supplies from her parents took two days to arrive. On the Friday morning, just after a week since Kelsie first washed up on the shore, a portly man appeared at the Roses' farm, accompanied by a rather tall dragon. Taller than the man even. The dragon was orange in colour, a cream underbelly, and had greenish-blue wings. It had a horn on the top of its head, along with two antennae. A dragonite.

The man, who was balding, but had tufts of light brown hair behind each ear, smiled when Liana had opened the door, and handed her a backpack, along with a small brown package. "For Miss Knight." He had said, before climbing up onto the dragonite and flying away.

Still rather startled, Liana called Kelsie into the living room and handed her her belongings. There was a letter attached to the front of the package, from her parents. Kelsie tore it open and read it:

_Dearest Kelsie,_

_You do not need to know how much worry we went through when we first heard of the storm and of your disappearance, as it matters no more, but we are so relieved to hear you are safe. Ms. Rose informed us of everything and we are extremely grateful to her and her son, for accompanying you on your journey. We understand that you would want to find your pokemon personally, we know how close the both of you are, but I cannot help but worry. Your father says I fret far too much. I just worry about my only child. _

_We wish you the best on your journey and hope that you find your typhlosion soon. We will be eagerly awaiting your return. We have given you and James something that we hope will assist you on your travels, courtesy of Professor Elm, a close friend of your father's. Also, in your bag is a brand new mobile phone, our number already stored. Please keep in touch._

_Lots of love, Mum and Dad. _

Tears welled up in Kelsie's eyes and she hastily turned her attention to the brown package. Inside were two pokedex and two trainer id cards, one for Kelsie and another for James. Realization flooded Kelsie's body, this was really happening. She was becoming a trainer, something she had never wanted to be, to try and find her best friend.

"Awesome!" James' shout made her jump. He had spotted the pokedex and was examining it with keen interest. "I'm officially a trainer! Rex, come here!" Rex, the houndour, padded over, staring at his trainer in confusion. James pointed the pokedex at him.

'_Houndour, the dark pokemon. Houndour travel in packs and communicate through barks in order to surround their prey. This houndour's level is five and is a male. The moves known are; leer, ember and howl._' The pokedex stated, in a cool male voice.

"Awesome!" James cheered, again. Rex barked in response. "Are you not going to scan your pokemon?"

"Wha- Oh…" Kelsie looked up. The tears had been pushed back and she was now trying to join in with James' enthusiasm. "…Yeah."

'_Mareep…_' Kelsie's pokedex rang out, as she pointed it at her new pokemon. '_…the wool pokemon. Mareep store static electricity in their wooly coat. They avoid battle and have mild dispositions. This mareep's level is six and is a female. The moves known are; tackle and growl._'

"Ha, ha!" James was practically rolling around the floor in hysterics. "Trust _you_ to have a weak pokemon who doesn't want to fight." He snorted with more laughter, Kelsie waited. "Hey!" James exclaimed, sobering up, a few minutes after. "Your pokemon is a higher level than mine!"

It had been decided that Kelsie and James would leave early the next day. They would head into the town and catch a ferry to Johto. After finally speaking to Doctor Fletcher, he and Kelsie had decided it would be best to start there. James had happily agreed, he was eager to try both Johto's and Kanto's gyms.

Liana had busied herself preparing a goodbye dinner, many of the villagers had been invited, Doctor Fletcher especially. Pedro had tried his best to help too. James had gone to say goodbye to the boys he had bribed to help him get a pokemon and to show them Rex. Leaving Kelsie to wander down to the beach for one last piece of tranquility.

The sea air was calming, easing the buzzing of her mind, sedating some of the excitement and nerves. Out of the many trips she had taken, she had never taken one quite as big nor as important as this one. And this time she was without her trusted pokemon, her best friend. It was completely different.

She had mixed feelings about training and caring for other pokemon. Would her typhlosion see it as a sign of betrayal? Or would he understand that, in order to help him, it had to be done? Kelsie was unsure, she hoped it was the latter.

She sighed, sitting down on the warm sand. The sea glistened, sparkling, in the sun, just as it did in her dream. It was calm, but in the distance, Kelsie could see it was rougher, just like the night of the storm.

_She had awoken, lying on the sun deck, having fallen asleep during the day. Judging by her watch, it had just turned evening, yet it was very dark. And cold. Rain had just started to drop from the sky, the source of her disturbance._

_Her typhlosion growled in discomfort, glaring up into the sky, up at the rapidly falling drops. Increase in speed, increase in size._

"_Come on." She muttered, heading back to her cabin. Typhlosion followed._

_Not long after, the waves had started to rock the ship. Stewards and the crew alike informed their passengers that it was nothing to worry about, just a minor storm. She was not convinced. From her porthole she could see how big the waves were getting. The sea was no longer glistening, it was dark, an evil source, wanting to swallow the ship and passengers whole. _

_She headed out on deck, ignoring the cabin crew's advice. Rain didn't bother her. Darkness didn't bother her. The lightning did, though._

_As soon as it started, she turned to go back inside, straight away. Booms of thunder sounded overhead, like two cymbals clashing together. One, two… A flash of lightning, the ship rocked violently, overturning. The last she heard was the deafening roar of her typhlosion, before the roars of the waves engulfed her mind and filled her ears. She struggled to the surface, scanning the darkness for typhlosion. Nothing. She tried to call, but salty water filled her throat and caused her to choke. She tread water for a few seconds, the shrieks and cries piercing her mind. Her body was screaming protests, but she forced herself to try to swim. Something pulled at her legs- tentacool. Their menacing eyes glaring at her as their tentacles stung her. She jerked away, causing her to collide head- first into some debris._

_She blackened out._

Kelsie awoke, panting and sweating at the horror. She wasn't aware that she had drifted off, but the final piece of her missing memory had slid into place. Truth be told, she had been expecting something a lot more worse than that, yet it still terrified her. Gasping, she forced herself to her feet and stared at the sea. She had a feeling that for a long while she would be pretty hesitant of deep water.

* * *

Doctor Fletcher waved goodbye to Liana, promising he would be round later to say goodbye to Kelsie and James, before they left for their journey.

Once she had left, he returned to pondering his thoughts. Before Liana had popped round, Doctor Fletcher, whose first name was Scott, had received a phone call from a group of trainers from his home town, offering a business proposition. Scott was clearly intrigued by what they had proposed, but he had a feeling they were just pulling his leg. The trainers insisted they weren't. In fact, they suggested the doctor should meet with them. They had their first client for him. If he was still interested.

After much deliberation, Scott sighed and picked up his phone. He hit the redial button and waited.

"Very well…" He said, once the phone had been picked up. "…I'm in."

"Excellent." An oily voice could be heard on the other end. "We will be expecting you here by next week. I'm sure you will be delighted with your first…ah…client." A small cackle, then a click. The call had been cut off.


	8. The adventure begins

**Rex spent most of the party barking at everyone. He snapped at people's heels and tried to chew their shoes. Pedro's vulpix followed him around. Once or twice James had to take Rex upstairs, only for the houndour to bound back down after him. **

"**He's a baby." James' excuse was.**

**Kelsie was still full of mixed emotions. She spent most of the evening in a corner, hiding away with her mareep, instead of mingling with people she hadn't even met. A few times she thought she had spotted the doctor glancing at her. Must have just been her mind playing tricks. **

**Looking at him properly, however, he didn't look very well. He looked slightly pale, his tousled hair more disheveled than usual. Kelsie had overheard that he was going away for a while too, starting next week. If she had known the doctor any better, she would have thought that it was somewhat suspicious.**

"**Grrr…" Kelsie heard James grumble from across the room, picking up Rex yet again, pulling him away from another, now angry, person. "Be-have!" Rex barked playfully in response, wagging his tail. He was enjoying this game, the game where he hunted shoes and trouser legs.**

"**Having trouble?" Kelsie asked, as James came nearer.**

**He pulled a face. "Course not." He set Rex down on the floor, in-between his feet. Rex settled for chewing James' shoelace.**

"**Sure." Kelsie giggled. "If he carries on like this on the ferry, you'll have to put him in his pokeball." James glared at her. "Why is Doctor Fletcher going away for a few days?"**

"**Beats me." James didn't look particularly interested in this topic of conversation. "Some business trip or something. Why?"**

"**Just wondering." James looked at her suspiciously, but said no more.**

**There had been a lot of tears on Liana and Pedro's part. Liana especially kept pulling her son back in for another hug, covering him in sloppy kisses. He wiped them off with his sleeve and pulled away, insisting he would be fine and would phone her as soon as they arrived. **

"**Do you have everything?" Liana asked. James nodded. "Toothbrush? Clothes? Clean underwear?"**

"**Mum!" James hissed, turning red. Kelsie chuckled.**

**Finally, James and Kelsie had set off to the town. Liana and Pedro waved them off from the farm. James had allowed Rex to walk with them, he galloped beside him, barking joyfully. Kelsie had allowed her mareep to stay outside of her pokeball too. As usual, mareep acted timidly, hiding behind Kelsie's legs. James laughed unkindly at her, once she had tripped up for the third time.**

"**I think I preferred it when you were sullen." Kelsie dusted herself off, glaring at James. He responded by sticking out his tongue.**

"**Hey! James!" They had almost reached the town. Two little boys were racing towards them, grinning broadly. "James! We caught you a pokemon!" James looked at them, confused. He had shown them Rex just yesterday and had told them he didn't need their help anymore. However, here they were, offering him a pokeball.**

"**Thanks, but…"**

"**Think of it as a going away present." The eldest of the two little boys said, pushing the pokeball into James' hands. "None of us wanted it anyway."**

"**Oh." James looked down at the seemingly unwanted pokeball, slightly displeased. Which pokemon was it then?**

**There was a flash of red light and a small brown and black bird with red wings appeared. The plumage on its head was brown and roughly placed. Its back was black and its tail feathers were brown. Like most other pokemon, its underbelly was beige. **

"**Rowwww!" It shrieked, angrily. **

'_**Spearow, the tiny bird pokemon. Unlike pidgey, spearow have a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other pokemon and humans.**_**' The pokedex stated. This spearow certainly did look moody. It was glaring up at Kelsie and James. Rex stared out of curiosity. '**_**This spearow's level is three and is a male. The moves known are; peck and growl.**_**' **

"**Great." James muttered, watching his pokemon stare daggers at each other. The spearow shrieked again. "Return. Before you deafen me." The spearow disappeared in another flash of red light. "Thanks guys." It was half-hearted, but the boys didn't seem to notice. They beamed at the duo and waved before walking off. **

"**Your party is growing." Kelsie laughed, sensing James' displeasure. "I'm not sure the spearow likes you though."**

"**I don't think it likes anyone, did you hear the pokedex? Attacks humans."**

"**I doubt he would attack his trainer." James grimaced at the word.**

**The ferry ride was not something Kelsie had been looking forward to. It was the only way to travel to the pokemon regions, however. Kelsie had resolved to stay in her cabin the full length of the journey- three hours. **

**James had other ideas. In the short space of time, from the outskirts of the town to arriving on the ferry, he had warmed to the idea of having another pokemon. Despite this spearow seeming grumpier than usual, he was convinced that he could get it to be nicer. And stronger. James had planned to seek out trainers and challenge them, to train up his level three and level five pokemon. However, many of the sailors had laughed at him, claiming he was just a weak little boy and that he would get stomped flat straight away. Mortified, James retreated to his cabin and took to studying a travel guide.**

"**I suppose we best make our way to the cities where weaker pokemon reside." He sighed. "From Olivine, we need to head to Violet city." He immersed himself in the guide. Rex and the spearow sat on the bed, clearly not enjoying the journey. "Hmm, I need your pokemon."**

"**Why? You have two."**

"**Because, it says here that the first gym leader uses flying-type pokemon. Your mareep is electric. It has an advantage."**

"**She." Kelsie corrected.**

"**Whatever." **

"**You are not using my pokemon to win. Use your own!" James sulked. "Besides, I'm going to need to defeat the gym leaders too." It was Kelsie's turn to look unhappy. Facing gym leaders clearly wasn't something she was looking forward too.**

**Soon enough, they had arrived in Olivine. Some kind old gentleman had warned Kelsie and James that routes thirty-eight and thirty-nine were full of more experienced trainers and strong wild pokemon. He had warned that newbies like them would suffer greatly if challenged to fight. It was decided that they would recall their pokemon and pretend that they weren't trainers to slip past. They would also avoid the grass. **

**They were almost through. Trainers paid them no attention, just instructing their pokemon to sniff out strays in the wild. Kelsie and James had almost made it to Ecruteak city, when a booming voice made them stop in their tracks.**

"**AHA!" They whirled round, a burly sailor was beaming at them, his pokemon- a blue axolotl with purple gills sticking out of its face and black markings on its stomach- eagerly awaiting battle. "YOU! You are trainers, yes?"**

"**N-no." James stammered, backing away.**

**The trainer's face fell and he sighed, dejectedly, falling back to the floor. His pokemon looked equally disappointed. "Shame. We'd been hoping for a bit of excitement." He said. "Things have been a bit… boring around here lately. The wild pokemon are a cinch for my wooper, with the exception of magnemite…"**

"**Because they're electric pokemon?" James asked, glancing at the sailor's pokemon. A wooper.**

"**Eh? I thought you said you weren't a trainer?" The sailor replied, letting a smile escape. "You can't be a very good one, otherwise you would know that wooper's are part ground. Makes them immune to electric attacks, see?" He guffawed. "No, no, magnemites are a pain, because not many attacks bother 'em. Part steel. Bloody tough. Especially as I foolishly haven't taught my wooper any ground moves yet." He looked saddened again, Kelsie felt sorry for the guy. "So it's either that or challenge the other trainers around here. They're strong, let me tell you. What I need is a weaker trainer to challenge, give me a chance to win." He looked hopeful, staring at James.**

"**Err…" He would win alright, but far too easily. James' pokemon would be flattened in one move, especially Rex.**

"**Shame we're not trainers then." Kelsie piped up, brightly. James tried to hide his relief.**

"**Shame." The sailor agreed, waving them off.**


	9. Something suspicious

It was approaching five o'clock when Kelsie and James left Ecruteak city and hit route thirty-seven. The sun was getting ready to set, the sky filled with pink and bright blue hues. There were a cluster of clouds approaching, looking like it was going to rain. James hoped they were nearly at their destination- Violet city.

After a few minutes of walking, there was a big patch of grass blocking their way forward. Well, it wasn't blocking them, per-se, but the pokemon that lay ahead were. Reindeer-like pokemon known as stantler, brown in colour and cream antlers with black orbs in the middle. And puppy-like pokemon with orange and black-striped fur and the usual cream underbelly, matching the tail and a curl of hair on top of its head. Growlithe. The stantler alone looked menacing enough, eyeing the two trainers carefully. The growlithe looked itching to fight too.

"What should we do?" Kelsie asked, returning her mareep again. If James suggested they pressed on she didn't want her pokemon being hurt. James kept Rex out, however. Kelsie didn't think that was a wise choice, seeing as Rex looked like he longed to bound up to one of the stantler and attack it. He was still a baby, not even fully grown yet.

"We've got no choice. This is the only way forward." James replied. He took a step forward, the wild pokemon didn't react. They carried on chewing grass or pawing the ground, their eyes still on the trainers and Rex. "I think we can make it." James lowered his voice.

"Fine." Kelsie muttered, stepping forward too. One of the growlithe, that were laying down, raised itself. Rex snarled. "James, control your pokemon." James glanced down, Rex's upper lip was curled back, his nose quivering, he looked ready to pounce. Whether it was to protect his trainer, or whether it was just his nature; wanting to fight, either way he didn't like this growlithe.

A flash of red light and Rex was gone. The two trainers made a dash for it, startling the stantler and making them retreat. The growlithe, however, ran after them, barking and snapping at their heels.

They managed to loose them by hiding behind some trees, puffing and panting. The growlithe sniffed the ground, clearly still smelling them, but didn't pursue. Instead, they trundled back to the stantler. Much to Kelsie and James' relief.

"Stupid houndour." James muttered.

They untangled themselves from the hedgerow, brushing off stray twigs and leaves from their clothes. Kelsie laughed, picking some from James' hair. "It looks even more of a birds nest now." She chuckled. She soon shut up though, once James had informed her that her hair was no better.

After another few minutes, James deemed it safe to bring Rex back out. There were no other pokemon around. There were no people either. There was the usual burst of red light and out came, with a screech, spearow.

"Wrong pokeball." Kelsie tittered. Her mareep re-appeared beside her. James glowered, releasing Rex too. "Which way?" They hadn't noticed before, but they were faced with a fork.

James pulled out his travel guide, it had come with a map. "We are here… No, we're…ok, this is where we started…" Darkness was falling, the air was getting colder. Kelsie sighed, wishing she had gotten her own travel guide. "Right, so we went that way… down there…" James was still pondering.

"Mareep." Kelsie was startled. She had never heard her pokemon talk before. She looked down, mareep was nudging her leg.

"It's ok." Kelsie patted mareep's head. "We'll get to shelter soon." She took off her bag and dug inside, searching for some pokemon food. Kelsie's own stomach grumbled loudly.

At the smell of food, Rex came padding over. Even spearow looked Kelsie's way. She placed some on the floor. Rex happily gobbled the pellets up. Spearow was more cautious. Kelsie dug deeper. There was a lunchbox full of sandwiches and lunch tidbits Liana had packed, one for her and James carried his. Her parents had packed a large stash of pokemon food consisting of pellets, fruit and berries. There was also a wad of cash, for supplies. Her parents had mentioned, in another note, that half was for James. They felt it was only fair.

Along with all of that, and Kelsie's clothes, was a brand new mobile. Her parents number had already been stored and Kelsie had taken down Liana's. Again, her parents had been kind enough to provide an extra one for James, another expression of their eternal gratitude to him and his family. In addition to everything else, there was a list of supplies her parents thought she may need, some helpful trainer books and a pokegear. The list included necessities such as; pokeballs, potions, antidotes, revives, repel, escape ropes and other various items. The pokegear was another electronic device, like the pokedex, that fitted onto the wrist like a wristwatch. It flipped open to reveal the time and its many other functions, usable via touch screen, once the correct expansion card had been inserted. A map card had already been inserted. Like everything else of vital importance, there was another for James. His was blue and white, Kelsie's was pink and silver.

After handing, the now non-wary, spearow some berries and watching it eat, Kelsie flipped up her pokegear and selected the map. James was still studying his, turning it this way and that. The pokegear was so efficient it even had a little flashing area on the map, indicating where the wearer was situated. Very convenient. Kelsie, almost immediately, located where she needed to go- left.

"Come on." She stood up, clasping her bag shut and slinging it back over her shoulder. The pokemon looked up, willing to listen. It was getting colder and the clouds were looming more menacingly. "Violet city is to the left." She turned and started walking. Mareep, spearow and Rex trotted after her. James hadn't noticed. It took Kelsie a few moments to realize this. "James!"

"Wha-" He ran after her, his map flapping about. "How do you know?" Kelsie sighed. A few more minutes couldn't hurt. She handed James half of the money, half of the pokemon food, his phone and his pokegear, along with an explanation. He spent several minutes trying it out. Kelsie sighed again, impatiently. "Sorry, it's just so cool!" He gushed.

"Yes, anyway…" Kelsie pointed forwards, people were hurrying to get home, pushing past them. "Violet city." James sobered up and followed Kelsie. She took another turn, right this time, and came out into Violet city.

Eventhough the village James lived was small, this city was smaller. There were a few buildings clustered together, along with a tower and a lake. They were stood next to a house and the pokemart, a shop where you could buy pokemon necessities. Kelsie offered to buy their equipment if James went to see if there were any rooms available in the pokemon centre. He obliged.

Kelsie walked through the automatic doors and looked around, marveled. The shelves were filled with all sorts of wonderful, brightly coloured merchandise. Last minute shoppers were rushing around with their pokemon, trying to choose the right equipment before the mart closed. Obviously wanting to do some late night training.

There were posters on the walls, advertising the latest products. '_Great ball- a __**greater**__ chance at catching pokemon! Available at selected marts!_ ' There were other posters too, Kelsie recognized some she had spotted in Ecruteak. They had pictures of different pokemon on with the captions; _Have you seen this pokemon? Call…_' Or '_Missing! If found, please call…_' They were posters of missing pokemon. Odd.

"Can I help you Miss?" Someone called out over the hubbub, Kelsie tore her eyes away from the posters and turned.

"Those pokemon…" She started, the store clerk wasn't paying much attention, some elderly woman had started to ask him questions, loudly. "…Never mind." Kelsie gathered some equipment for her and James and went to pay.

Soon after, Kelsie met up with James in the pokemon centre. He had managed to secure them the last two rooms. Nurse Joy; a kindly woman with pale skin, blue eyes and long pink hair tied back in pigtails that joined together to look like bows, smiled at them. She and her pokemon chansey- a pink egg shaped pokemon, with slightly darker pink hair-like extensions and a pink pouch holding an egg- ran the pokemon centre.

"Here." Kelsie handed James his share of potions, pokeballs, escape ropes, antidotes, parlyz heals and awakenings. There was five of each. James thanked her and put them in his bag. "Hey, have you noticed any strange posters?"

"You mean like those?" James pointed to the left wall of the pokemon centre. It was mostly covered by a big bulletin board, which was filled with posters and advertisements of merchandise, list of wanted pokemon for trades, notices and the same posters Kelsie had seen in the pokemon mart, indicating missing pokemon. "Nurse Joy said that many trainers in Johto have had a few of their pokemon go missing lately. It's scared some of the younger ones from starting."

"Any leads?"

James shrugged, looking concerned. "Apparently its died down slightly. It's happening more in Kanto now, but…"

"…Those trainers haven't gotten their pokemon back." Kelsie finished. James nodded. "That's awful. And Nurse Joy doesn't have any more information?"

"Don't think so." They headed up to the upper level of the pokemon centre, where the rooms were. Kelsie had expected it to be fuller than this, but if many had been putting off becoming a trainer, because of what was happening, it would explain why. Violet city was the second city away from where trainers got there starter pokemon- New Bark town.

"…Kelsie?" Kelsie jumped. She must have let her thoughts carry her away, as she had missed what James was saying. A few other trainers stared at them, standing in the middle of the hallway, as they passed on their way to and from the bathroom.

"Erm… what?"

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" James repeated, speaking slower.

"I don't mind. I thought you wanted to challenge the gym?"

James laughed. "What with my pokemon? C'mon Kelsie, you _know_ I need to train them up!" Kelsie blushed, she _had_ known that, she just hadn't fully recovered from her thoughts.

"Training then?"

"Yeah, suppose. Wouldn't you like to check out the town?"

"James, my whole purpose of being here, of being a trainer, is to find my typhlosion. Not waste time sight-seeing."

That comment earned Kelsie another glimpse of James' tongue. "Thought you were into that sort of thing?"

"Fine!" Kelsie sighed irritably. There was no point in blocking the hallway any longer arguing with James. Yes, she was into traveling and sight-seeing, he was right about that, but like she had said, this adventure only had one point to it. For her anyway.

And she wasn't going to waste anymore time, energy or oxygen stressing it.

It was decided, rather hurriedly, due to the other trainers getting impatient of squeezing past, that they would check out Violet city before starting with their training. "I'll meet you for breakfast!" James called, getting carried away with the crowd to his room.

Kelsie stared after him and then made her way to hers. It was small, a bed, bedside table and a lamp filled most of the room's space. It was still pretty early, but after today's events, Kelsie was pretty tired. Mareep settled herself on the end of the bed, getting ready to sleep. Kelsie stroked her absent-mindedly for a while, before drifting off to sleep herself.


	10. Violet city

The sunlight was strong, streaming over Johto. The many patches of lakes, rivers and sea sparkled, twinkling like jewels. Many trainers were up already, training their pokemon against others and strays.

Kelsie was sat downstairs in the pokemon centre, tucking into her breakfast. Mareep was sat beside her, eating apple slices and dry weetabix. She seemed to like it. James and his pokemon were nowhere in sight, probably still fast asleep. Kelsie chuckled, earning a few strange looks.

Half an hour later, James still wasn't present. The centre was almost empty and a few chansey were packing away the breakfast things. Breakfast clearly didn't last long. However, Kelsie had snaffled James some toast and his pokemon some fruit, so that they wouldn't go hungry. She had the feeling, though, that Rex would probably prefer meat. Too late now.

"Wh- what time is it?" James had finally surfaced, yawning. His eyes still had flakes of sleepy dust and his hair was sticking up at the back. Though, with the style he usually went for, all he had to do was ruffle his hair up a little and it would look fine. Messy hair suited him.

"Time to leave. C'mon! I don't want to waste _all _day, seeing as you're forcing me to explore." Kelsie tugged at his arm, pulling him out of the door. He didn't look ready, but he was dressed, that was good enough.

"I haven't even eaten…" He mumbled, grumbling to his pokemon as he let them out. Something unintelligible slipped out whilst muttering, Kelsie caught the words; time and month.

She rolled her eyes. What was it with the male species blaming everything on the one thing they feared the most- periods? "Where to first?" She cut across him, making him shut up abruptly.

"Somewhere for food?" He hinted. Kelsie stuffed the toast in his hands and bent down to feed Rex and the spearow. Rex looked almost as disgusted as James at his chosen food. "Where's the marmalade?"

"Excuse me for not knowing your preferences. Maybe next time you could be up on time and get your own?"

"I think I preferred it when you didn't speak." James uttered, mocking Kelsie from the day before when she had muttered something similar.

"A simple thank you would suffice."

Kelsie flounced away, deciding where she should go next. The pokegear didn't enlighten as to what sights each town or city had, so she had to resort to James' travel guide. When he decided to get it out, that was.

However, he had seated himself on the damp grass, chewing his toast. He took satisfaction in making Kelsie wait, especially as she was so impatient to go. Her typhlosion had survived this long alone, it could wait a while longer… Right?

He forced his toast down, his throat sticking. He hadn't thought that Kelsie's pokemon could be in trouble, hurt or worse. He now understood her urgency. "Stupid jerk…"

"What?" Kelsie stared at him, slightly perplexed.

James shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He brought out his travel guide. "Right, there's Sprout Tower, the gym, a pokemon academy…"

"What's that?"

"It says; '_a school where students and trainers can learn about pokemon and various status conditions._' Sounds interesting."

"Sounds necessary."

They set off up to where Earl's pokemon academy was situated. It was just up past the pokemon centre. It was a rather large building placed in front of some trees. A sign was placed on the grass just to the left of the building; '_Earl's Pokemon Academy._'

"Do we just go straight in?" Kelsie asked, James shrugged. He knocked on the oak door and waited for an answer. Nothing. He then pushed the door handle down and the door creaked open.

"Come in then!" One of the students snapped. He and another boy had been copying the notes on the blackboard. Another two students, the ones nearest the door, were busy making a trade. There was no teacher in sight.

Kelsie made her way to the front of the room, where the blackboard stood. There were squiggles of writing indicating how to catch pokemon and a list of status problems that may occur in battle. Each one came with a brief explanation and the cure;

'_Confusion- may attack itself in battle. Clears up during battle or immediately after._

_Poison- health is steadily lost, remains after battle. Use an antidote or full heal to cure._

_Sleep- only certain moves, such as snore, etc, can be made, remains after battle. Use awakening or full heal to cure._

_Frozen- cannot attack or move, remains after battle. Use ice heal or full heal to cure._

_Paralysis- reduces speed and can prevent movement, remains after battle. Use parlyz heal or full heal to cure._

_Burn- steadily consumes health and reduces attack power, remains after battle. Use burn heal or full heal to cure._'

"Is that it?" James was stood behind her, reading over her shoulder. "Waste of time." He turned and walked back out. The boy who had snapped earlier glared at Kelsie for being interrupted yet again. Kelsie scurried out too.

James wasn't at the front of the building when she arrived outside. He had wandered alone to Sprout Tower, which was just round the corner and across the lake. Kelsie hurried over to him. "Could have waited." She muttered.

There were a lot of people inside. A few elderly men and women clustered around a pillar in the middle, a pillar that was moving, swaying back and forth. A fair few trainers were stood around by the stairs, looking rather nervous.

"What's up?" James strode over to them, hoping to find out what was wrong. Most of the trainers had their pokemon out, starter pokemon.

"T-there's ghosts in this tower…" One of the closer ones, a little girl with brown hair, tied back in a plait, stuttered. "…My chikorita's grass attacks won't do much damage." Her pokemon- a small and green pokemon with a big leaf sticking out of its head and darker green shoots placed around its neck like a necklace- was covering beside its trainer. Most of the other rookie trainers were doing the same, with the small exception at the back. They were discussing tactics with their pokemon.

"Why did you visit the tower then?" Kelsie asked, kindly. Her mareep plodded over to the chikorita and they started to converse too.

"B-because I wanted to fight the Sage Elder and get a hidden machine." The others murmured in agreement. Kelsie was nonplussed, hidden machine? "I-I didn't know about the ghosts…" The girl carried on. "…Until they told me." She jerked her head in the direction of the elderly people. Some of them were trying to hide grins, looking away. Others merely looked outraged at being accused.

"And you're all scared of the ghosts?" James asked, the group of rookie nodded. The other trainers, who looked older, scoffed and went up the stairs. "Ok, we'll help." Kelsie beamed at his attitude. "Lets us do some training too…" He lowered his voice so only Kelsie could hear, whilst the cluster of trainers cheered. "…We'll fight off the ghosts so they can get their hidden machine."

"Naww, so sweet." James flushed scarlet.

There were a few trainers on the way to the Sage Elder, who, obviously, rested at the top. A few other Sages were dotted about, each had a team of bellsprout and a one had a hoothoot too. The other trainers could be seen here or there, but none decided to bother with the group of rookies, James and Kelsie, convinced that they were too weak for them.

Other than the Sages, there were only purple and cream rats, known as rattata, running about. No ghosts at all. By the time they had all reached the Elder, the rookies were looking quite embarrassed. They had acted scared for no reason. Kelsie and James didn't mind; Kelsie's mareep had leveled up a lot. She was now level eight. Rex had leveled up too, due to chasing the rattatas around and attacking them and torching the bellsprouts with his ember. He was now level eight too. James' spearow had also leveled up. His peck was super effective against the bellsprout, so he and Rex made a fantastic team against them. Not that Rex was willing to share, but he didn't have much choice. Spearow was now level five and had also learnt a new move- leer.

"Ah…" The Elder had spotted them. "…Are you all wishing to challenge me?" He looked at each of the trainers in turn, first the four rookies then Kelsie and James.

The rookies all nodded. "Sure." James nodded too. The Elder smiled at Kelsie, waiting. Eventually she agreed.

"Then let's begin." He released his first pokemon- another bellsprout. One by one the rookies stepped forward. Out of the four, only two succeeded. The other two's pokemon had suffered greatly from the earlier battles. Next was James. Before he had even given a command, Rex had leaped forward and shot a burst of flames out of his mouth, which instantly knocked the bellsprout out.

Next was a hoothoot. James decided to keep Rex out and after more embers, the hoothoot hit the floor too. James was looking smug. "Piece of cake."

Another bellsprout. Rex was called back and spearow flew forward. "Peck!" James ordered. Spearow launched at the bellsprout, his beak colliding with the bellsprout's head. Another one hit k.o.

"Well done, you are a very strong trainer." The Elder bowed, smiling, and then offered James the hidden machine. It contained flash. James hugged his pokemon, still celebrating his victory. Kelsie congratulated him and stepped forward, anxious. The only offensive move her mareep knew was tackle. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." The first bellsprout was brought out yet again, after being revived and fully healed. Kelsie felt sorry for the poor thing, this would be its sixth battle. The Elder allowed Kelsie to go first.

She instructed mareep to use growl. "Reep!" A shrill noise escaped mareep's mouth. The bellsprout wasn't fazed, it flung a vine out, smacking mareep on the head.

"Tackle!" Eventually mareep won out, causing another level up. Kelsie cheered, but they were nowhere near finished. Hoothoot was a lot tougher. One of the rookies had used their pokedex on it and its level was revealed. Level ten.

"Tackle."

"Growl."

"Foresight."

"Tackle."

This continued for sometime. Twice Kelsie had to use a potion. Eventually, the hoothoot fainted and mareep was challenged by the final bellsprout. After a few tackles, mareep's wool began to crackle, glowing yellow from the static. A jolt of electricity hit the bellsprout, causing it to faint. The mareep made a squeal of joy and jumped into her trainer's arms, giving Kelsie mild electric shocks.

"Whoa." Kelsie grinned, her eyes filled with happiness. "Well done, I'm so proud of you!"

"As am I." The Elder pressed the hidden machine into her hands. "Congratulations."

*

"That was good experience." James sounded pretty pleased, as they descended the stairs to the bottom of Sprout Tower. The elderly looked aghast. The group of rookies thanked them and sped off, ready to continue their journey or do some more training. "Training and a hidden machine."

"I know. Mareep learnt thundershock too!" Kelsie's voice was filled with pride. "Oh, James, what's a hidden machine?"

He chuckled. "It's a disc that allows you to teach pokemon a new move." He explained. "You can use it over and over again, whereas with a technical machine you can only use each disc once."

"Oh." Kelsie looked embarrassed at her lack of knowledge. James grinned at her. "Thanks." They made their way past the elderly people, who narrowed their eyes at the two trainers, and exited Sprout Tower. "So, what next?"


	11. The Zephyr Badge

_Reviews are always welcome… :)_

"You could challenge the gym leader now, you know." It was approaching mid-evening. Kelsie and James had spent the rest of the afternoon training their pokemon out on route thirty-two, near Violet city. Mareep had perfected her new thundershock move and enjoyed jolting stray pidgey from a distance. Spearow had quickly learnt not to stand too close.

Rex had excelled too, perfecting his hunting technique and pouncing on his prey. In these last few days he had grown considerably, now a fully formed houndour, instead of a baby one.

Kelsie turned to face James, he was smiling at her. "Electric against flying? Piece of cake for you."

"I thought you wanted to challenge the gym leader first?"

James shrugged. "Need more training, methinks." Kelsie laughed. "Seriously, go for it. Not now, obviously, it's slightly too late."

"It's peaceful." After a few hours, most of the wild pokemon had learnt to leave the two trainers and their pokemon alone, lest they got pecked at, electrocuted or burnt. It allowed Kelsie and James to just relax by the lake, talking or just watching their pokemon enjoy themselves. When evening had struck, the air became cooler and the other trainers had wandered off, leaving them in complete tranquility. Until a poor wild pokemon stumbled across them.

Over the duration of the afternoon, Kelsie and James had polished off their packed lunches and nearly all the fruit for their pokemon had gone. As evening approached, a rumble of someone's stomach could be heard occasionally. "Pokemon centre?" Kelsie suggested. James nodded enthusiastically. He called to his pokemon and they ran off, back to Violet city. Kelsie rolled her eyes, jokingly, and she and her mareep followed suit.

* * *

"Go on." James pushed Kelsie forward, causing the automatic doors to open as she stumbled. There was a young man seated next to the door, a table and a list of trainers in front of him. He looked up and smiled welcomingly.

"Here to challenge Falkner?" He asked, Kelsie nodded slowly, nerves getting the better of her.

James sighed impatiently, but also seeing humour in the situation. "Yes, Kelsie is. She isn't on that list though. We've didn't realize we had to make an appointment." Kelsie saw this as a glimmer of hope, if they weren't on the list then maybe they would have to come back some other time. That suited her, mareep may be ready, but she wasn't prepared, mentally.

"Not to worry, not to worry." The male laughed, scanning the list. Kelsie's hope evaporated at the sight of his cheerful look. "Falkner is scheduled a break after this match, but maybe he could fit your friend in quickly."

They went to sit in the stands, watching Falkner and his bird pokemon challenge another rookie. This one was a young boy, rather short with sandy coloured hair. He looked as nervous as Kelsie felt. His totodile, however, looked ready for action, dodging the pidgey's attacks well and fighting back with his own. In the end, the blue two-legged crocodile won out. The red spikes on his back looked more menacing than ever.

Falkner threw out his next pokeball, the usual beam of red light brought a pokemon similar to pidgey, but bigger and with more elaborate plumage. The head-crest was reddish and its tail red and yellow. "Pidgeotto, use gust!"

The attack knocked the totodile clean off its feet. The little boy curled his hands into fists looking both encouraged and enraged. The nerves were gone. "Come on Toto, tackle!" The totodile, nicknamed Toto, sprang back up, more determined. He ran towards the Pidgeotto, who, after getting a quick hint from Falkner, rose up into the air. Confused, Toto paused, looking around. Too late he realized where the pokemon had gone and was hit with a powerful tackle himself. Causing him to keel over and faint.

"Totodile is unable to battle. The challenger has no other useable pokemon. Falkner wins!" The referee raised his right arm, holding up a flag that indicated Falkner's victory. Falkner shook hands with the boy and turned to the man who seated himself by the door. He was informing Falkner of Kelsie.

The boy left, dismayed. He mumbled a quick 'good luck' to Kelsie before exiting. She stared after him, shaking slightly. James squeezed her shoulder, uttering words of encouragement.

"You must be Kelsie." Falkner held out his hand for Kelsie to shake. She did so, noticing that he had a firm grip. His eyes matched his hair- dark blue- and they twinkled full of kindness. "Are you ready?"

Kelsie nodded, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth, her throat too dry to speak. Falkner had healed his pokemon and brought out his first, the pidgey. Kelsie pulled the only pokeball she had off of her belt and released mareep. Still not much of a battler, but having grown increasingly in confidence, mareep let out a low growl and her wool crackled with static. Kelsie felt slightly more at ease at her sight.

"Mareep, use thundershock!"

"Dodge it pidgey and use mud-slap!" The pidgey rose up into the air and flew over to the other side of the arena, behind mareep. There it hurled wingfuls of mud that hit mareep and knocked her back. She turned round weakly, the static increasing.

"Ma-reeeep!" The crackles grew louder and a jolt of electricity furled itself at the surprised pidgey. It tottered around, dazed and then fell to the floor.

"Pidgey!" Falkner cried. "Get up, please!" But it didn't. It had fainted.

"Falkner's pidgey is unable to battle, the challenger wins the first round!" The referee raised his left arm this time, indicating Kelsie's first victory. James cheered wildly, emitting whistles. Kelsie felt herself blush slightly.

"Very good," Falkner praised. "But we're not done yet. Go, pidgeotto!" The big bird was back. James scanned it on his pokedex;

'_Pidgeotto, an evolved form of pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle pidgey, pidgeotto can be more dangerous. Approach with extreme caution. This pidgeotto is level nine and is a male. The moves known are; tackle, mud-slap and gust._'

James wasn't worried; Kelsie's mareep was level ten. Albeit, slightly weakened but she looked very determined. The static looking pretty fierce. "Mud-slap!" Falkner ordered.

"Dodge it mareep!" Mareep did as instructed, but it was hard to dodge a flying bird. Pidgeotto was a lot quicker. A few times, mareep had gotten hit by the attack, dealing great damage to her. She fell down, trying to stand back up on feeble legs. "No!" Kelsie's cried echoed around the gym, as she too sank down. "Mareep!"

"…Reep…" As feeble as her attempts to stand, the words escaped her mouth. Seeing the pleading look in her trainers eyes, mixed with compassion and worry that her pokemon was hurt, drove mareep to force herself up. She wobbled a few times as James, Kelsie, Falkner and the referee gasped, and with all her might, raised the static into one last thundershock. The pidgey screeched and plummeted to the ground with such a force. Just as mareep collapsed too.

"Wow…" The referee was stunned. Falkner returned his pokemon, as Kelsie rushed to hers. He looked down at the trainer, beaming, full of admiration. "Pidgeotto is unable to battle. Falkner is out of usable pokemon. The challenger wins!" Again, the flag for Kelsie's victory was raised.

Kelsie returned her mareep and stood back up. A cool-feeling, shiny badge was pressed into her palm. It was tiny, silver and shaped like a curved wing. Her first badge. "Well done kid."

"Thank you."

"You're a strong trainer, your mareep has done you proud. I admire that." He folded his arms, grinning. His eyes flashed. "That is an official Pokemon League Badge, the Zephyr Badge. It means that all pokemon up to level twenty will obey you without question and it enables you to use the hidden machine flash anytime outside of battle. Take this too…" He handed Kelsie a shiny disc like the one she had received yesterday. "…That's TM thirty-one, mud-slap. I realize that your mareep can't learn it, but maybe one of your future ones can."

"T-thank you." Kelsie was stunned by his generosity.

Falkner waved her thank you away and turned to James. "Are you battling me next?"

''Fraid not." James admitted, sheepishly. "Some other time. I'll put my name down on the list." Falkner nodded and bade them goodbye. James stopped, once they had reached the door, and scheduled a battle for the next day.

"Scaredy cat." Kelsie teased, but for once James didn't retaliate.

"You did fantastically."

"No I didn't, it was all mareep." Kelsie, once again, was filled with pride. They rushed to the pokemon centre to heal up mareep.

Nurse Joy informed Kelsie that her mareep was just exhausted and needed some well earned rest. She said it wasn't a problem if they wanted to go off and explore for a few hours, as mareep was in capable hands. Kelsie thanked her and headed off to route thirty-two again, with James, to train his pokemon.

'_Ring… ring…_' Kelsie's phone vibrated loudly in her bag. It startled Rex, who pounced on it, ready to rip it to shreds. Thankfully, James pulled him off in time.

"Hello?" It was a number she didn't recognize. There was a lot of static and few intelligible words. "Hello?!" She tried again.

"Kel…" The static was louder; clearly a bad signal on the other end. "Kelsie?…Kelsie!" At last, it cleared up. "Ah, yes, that's better. Now, Kelsie, is that you?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Yes, that would help." There was a chuckle. James and Rex stared at Kelsie, bemused. "I am Professor Elm, a friend of your father's. He told me that you would be traveling around Johto and Kanto, searching for your lost pokemon…"

"You know Professor Elm?!" James was in awe.

"…A happy coincidence that you started out in Johto…" Kelsie's father must have enlightened Elm, they clearly talked a lot. "…I'm afraid I have a favour to ask of you." James was still in awe, hopping up and down excitedly. When he came to his senses, he started babbling about meeting Professor Elm. Kelsie waved him away. "I would like you to swing by my lab, in New Bark town. I recently acquired another pokemon egg, I no longer need to study the development of pokemon from eggs, so I would like to give the egg to you. If you would like, that is."


	12. Two mysterious men

James had to cancel his gym battle that was scheduled for the next day. There was no way the two trainers were going to get to New Bark town and back in less than twenty-four hours. It would take at least a day and a half, especially as they had to wait for Kelsie's mareep.

They had talked about leaving for New Bark town after James' gym battle, but James refused. He deemed getting the egg from Professor Elm far too important. Kelsie couldn't see how, but she assumed that James was just eager to meet the professor. James had insisted he would train his pokemon along the way and by the time he eventually faced Falkner, he would flatten him.

"Fine." Kelsie had given in. She wasn't as enthusiastic as James, she saw this as yet another obstacle in the way of her finding typhlosion. She was also questioning as to why the professor would give her an egg, surely he was faced with new trainers everyday? Couldn't he just pass the egg off to one of them?

Mareep rejoined the trainers, after a well earned rest, two hours after Kelsie had handed her over to Nurse Joy. They set off to New Bark town, starting from route thirty-one. There were a few wild pokemon about; stem-like pokemon with root-like feet, two leaves for arms and a yellow bell-shaped head with round pink lips. Bellsprout. There were many pidgey flying about too, with caterpillar-like pokemon that had yellow ring-shaped markings and an orange antenna and reddish-pink coloured pokemon that had dandelion leaves sprouting from their head, roaming the grass. Caterpie and hoppip.

There were trainers out here too, battling one another and the wild pokemon. They seemed slightly weak, one challenged James and got stomped. His bug pokemon were no match at all for Rex's fire and spearow's peck. All these combined attacks they were doing to the stray bug and grass pokemon seemed to make them bond slightly. They were still wary of each other, but were no longer staring daggers at one another.

Mareep was quite content at zapping the pidgey. She loved her electric attack, and preferred battling from a distance. A few other trainers eyed them cautiously, deciding they would rather not challenge the duo. Something that suited Kelsie fine, but disgruntled James.

The sun was beaming down on them as they traveled, the air humid and uncomfortable. James had taken off his hoody, a few passing girls wolf-whistling as he did which caused him to blush, and stuffed it into his bag. He thought about asking spearow to beat his wings to create a cooling wind, but he knew spearow would never oblige. Instead he recalled his pokemon to hopefully shade them from the heat, and tried to stick to the shade of the trees.

"I need a water pokemon." He moaned, fanning his face. Kelsie glanced his way, wary. "What?"

"Just depends on the water pokemon." The nasty look of the jellyfish pokemon swam in her mind. She returned mareep too. "I wouldn't mind a psyduck."

"You're weird." James laughed.

It started to get dark just as Kelsie and James reached Cherrygrove city. They dropped by the pokemon centre to rest their pokemon and their feet for a few minutes and then doubled back to the mart to stock up on supplies.

Finally refreshed and feeling cooler than they had all day, they were ready to continue. New Bark town wasn't too far from Cherrygrove. Fifteen minutes or so. It seemed, however, that they would have to either camp out or spend the night at Cherrygrove's pokemon centre, they both were uneasy about traveling back to Violet city at night.

Spotting a lake, James ran over to it, peering down into the water. He was scanning for good water pokemon. He knew that it was probably mostly magikarp that resided here, but he thought he could see the odd corsola or krabby scurrying about on the lakes' bottom. He slid his arm in the water, biting his lip at the coldness that numbed his arm, trying to bait the pokemon. He knew it was useless, but there was no harm in trying.

Kelsie watched his stupidity from a distance. Rex cocked his head to the side, puzzled by his trainer. James turned his head and motioned for them to come over. "Can I borrow mareep?" He asked, once Kelsie was within distance.

"Why?"

"To use thundershock on the water. The good pokemon will float to the surface **and** they'll be knocked out. An easy catch."

Kelsie laughed. "Surely that's cheating?"

"Is that a no?" She nodded. "Damn. I need a fishing rod."

"I take it you don't want a magikarp?" James pulled a face, Kelsie took that as a no. "Why not? They evolve into gyrados." James ignored her and carried on straining to reach the bottom of the lake whilst staying on land. "You're wasting your time. We need to get going!"

"Ok, ok!" James snapped back, withdrawing his arm and shaking it dry. Rex flinched at the sprays and shot James a whine. He apologized by patting Rex's head with his dry arm. "Hey, do you think Professor Elm will give me a totodile?"

"Doubt it, they're for new trainers." Kelsie helped James up and led him out to route twenty-nine. It was eerily quiet, no trainers or wild pokemon in sight. Kelsie found it odd.

"Do you think he'll give us some dinner?" James asked, breaking the silence after a few minutes. His stomach grumbled to highlight how hungry he was. "I'm starv-" Kelsie put a finger to her lips, hushing him and held out her arm to make him halt. She could hear voices nearby.

"Can you hear that?" She whispered, straining her ears and tip-toeing closer to the source. Three shadows came into view. Kelsie pulled James down into a crouch and the two of them hid themselves from sight, sheltered by trees.

Clouds parted and the moonlight shone down, revealing one of the shadows. It was a gengar, a deep purple, almost black, coloured pokemon, tall and bulky, with a menacing look upon its face. From where James and Kelsie were crouching they could see the gengar clearly, as well as the two other shadows that were still veiled in darkness.

The gengar was moving its arms in a trance-like manner, clearly performing some sort of move. There was a soft 'oh' and a thump. Kelsie saw a female, around her and James' age, fall back against a tree. Her eyes were closed and her body limp, but she didn't look like she had passed out. More like she had been put into a dreamless sleep. The gengar stopped waving its arms and smiled sinisterly, before disappearing in a flash of red light. Its trainer stepped forward, a similar smile etched upon his scarred face. He looked naturally nasty, no hint of kindness in his eyes. His hair perhaps reflected his heart; icy. The blueness glinting in the moonlight. Kelsie repressed a shudder.

A companion stepped forward too, sneering. His eyes; one red, one black, clearly the effect of contacts, penetrated the dark, glaring down at the girl. His hair was sleek, ebony. "Let's see what pokemon she has." His voice was deep, by the tone Kelsie guessed that he was the one who took control. The other male nodded, reaching out to take the three pokeballs from the girl's belt.

Kelsie felt James stir beside her, outraged. Where these the ones who were stealing people's pokemon? The men were cackling now, talking in hushed voices. "Perhaps gengar could use dream eater, just for effect?" This voice was raspy, rough on the ears. Evidently the other man had refused, as footsteps could be heard, rapidly approaching Kelsie and James.

"Rex, ember!" James yelled, leaping up once the men had past. He wasn't about to sit there and let two creeps steal someone's pokemon in front of him. Rex leapt forward, snarling, startling the men. Before they had time to react, their cloaks had caught fire at the tip and Kelsie had ordered her mareep to use thundershock.

The men dropped the pokeballs, jolts of electricity burning through their bodies. Once recovered, the shorter of them went to throw a pokeball, but was stopped. The black-haired man shook his head and they ran off into the darkness.

"Odd." James stooped down and picked up the pokeballs. "Why did they take off? They could have taken us, our pokemon aren't that strong…" He trailed off, it wasn't something he wanted to admit.

"Maybe it wasn't worth getting found out." Kelsie suggested. "I couldn't get a good look at them. A scarred man with ice blue hair and a black-haired man with contacts doesn't narrow it down."

"Hmm…" James knelt down in front of the sleeping girl. Her hair was deep red, crimson, tints of purple and blue visible, and was strewn over her face. James shook her carefully, but she didn't stir. "Hello." He said, firmly. "Hello, can you hear me?" He shook her again.

One by one, two chocolate brown eyes were unveiled as her eyelids lifted. Her pale lips formed into a perfect 'o' shape, as she stared in horror at the male kneeling in front of her. She fell back, hitting her head on the tree and her eyes closed again in pain.

"It's ok." James reassured her quickly, before she had collected enough breath to scream. "We saved you."

She looked confused. "Two men and a gengar were trying to steal your pokemon." Kelsie clarified.

"Yeah, the gengar used hypnosis and the men took off with your pokemon."

"M-my pokemon?" The girl repeated. James nodded. The girl sat up straight, panicked. "Oh! Oh, no. I thought it had stopped, I thought they had gone to Kanto!" Her hands fell to her waist, checking her belt, to see if James was telling the truth. He was.

"Here." James held out her pokeballs. She snatched them back, a little relieved.

"Thought who had gone to Kanto?" Kelsie chipped in.

"The poke-snatchers."


	13. Vasseur

Kirralie was the girls' name. She raised and bred pokemon, with her family, in their hometown; Blackthorn city. In fact, she was the one who had delivered the egg to Professor Elm. She was on her way home, when she had gotten ambushed.

"T-thank you." She got to her feet, rather shakily. She clipped her pokeballs back onto her belt and dusted herself down.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kelsie asked, looking worried. Thankfully, those men hadn't decided to attack her. Something that struck Kelsie as strange. "What exactly happened?"

"I was making my way back home…" Kirralie recalled, for the second time. "…When two men appeared from the shadows. They were talking, something about getting more and pleasing their boss. I can't quite remember…" She still looked in shock. "…They spotted me and obviously my pokeballs. Next thing I know, a gengar was stood over me and I had fell asleep." Embarrassment took over.

"Why do you have pokemon if you're a breeder?" James asked, bluntly. Kelsie shot him a look that quite plainly said '_Don't be insensitive._' Kirralie, however, didn't seem to mind the question. "Did you just catch them to breed, or…?"

"Actually, I've been planning on becoming a trainer for a while." She smiled, not fazed about discussing her future plans with a bunch of strangers. "I've had a few minor alterations to deal with, but…" She trailed off with a shrug.

It was getting late, hoothoot were resting in nearby trees, hooting. Clouds were attempting to mask the moon again, shrouding land in darkness. James and Kelsie were both very hungry.

"We best be going." Kelsie looked and sounded apologetic. "If it's too late for you to travel home, you're welcome to come with us till morning."

"I'll be fine." Kirralie thanked the two trainers for helping her and turned to head home, via route forty-six.

"Good luck!" James called after her. She waved in response.

"Finally!" Professor Elm beamed, as Kelsie and James stepped into the lab. He and his aide were just about to lock up for the night. "Still, better late than never!" He ushered them in and led them up to his half of the lab. The whole building was crammed with bookshelves, which themselves were crammed with books. There were two desks at either end of the building, one for Professor Elm, the other for his aide. Each one littered with notes. Professor Elm's half also consisted of a computer, wall charts and other various equipment.

There was a pokemon egg placed upon the desk. It was rather small, pale pink with light purple swirls patterned all over. "That's the egg?" Kelsie asked, examining it.

"Yes." Professor Elm nodded, his smile reaching his tan eyes. They matched the colour of his hair. "I have a slight confession to make…" He sat down, looking guilty. James and Kelsie followed his lead. "…Your father asked me to assist you with a pokemon each. However, I have none that I can spare, not with new trainers starting almost everyday. I called in a favour from some local pokemon breeders, but they only have one egg." Kelsie now understood why she was chosen. "I'm afraid James, I have none for you, unless pink is your colour?" Elm chuckled.

James didn't seem to mind. He was content with Rex and spearow for now, despite his longings for a water pokemon to ease the summer heat. "What pokemon is it?" He asked, curiously. If it was a water pokemon he may have braved the pink.

"Ah, well now, I would like to keep that as a surprise." As his face lifted into yet another smile, small lines began to appear on his face, showing either age or stress. Kelsie doubted it was the former, he looked reasonably young.

Professor Elm straightened his glasses, studying the two teens' faces. They looked eager, Kelsie especially, now that she had warmed to the idea. Noticing the time, he invited them both to stay for dinner and to stay the night. They happily obliged.

Professor Elm's house was attached to the side of the lab, which was easy for him to access everyday. Sometimes late into the night too, when important research came up. Every night his aide would join him and his family for dinner.

Both Elm and his aide hung up their white lab coats and seated themselves comfortably on the sofa. Professor Elm's son had long gone to bed. His wife, a kindly looking woman, similar to James' mother, smiled welcomingly at Kelsie and James and told them dinner wouldn't be long. The alluring aroma of magikarp stew wafted out of the kitchen. The pokemon were offered some too.

After dinner, pillows and blankets were provided for James and Kelsie to get settled in the living room. Elm's aide had gone home. James offered Kelsie the sofa, sorting out a makeshift bed for himself on the floor. Kelsie thanked him and got comfy too.

"An egg eh?" James said, once they were settled. "What do you think it is?"

"I've no idea." Kelsie rooted in her bag for it. It was cool and smooth to touch. "My question is when will it hatch?"

* * *

Scott Fletcher stepped off the ferry, onto the port of Vermilion city. It was crowded, full of people waiting to board, people who, like Scott, had just arrived or others who had come to greet or say goodbye to family or friends.

At the end of the pier were two men, dressed similarly, in white lab coats and black trousers, waiting for the doctor. Their looks were akin too, perhaps they were brothers. Both had short, stubby brown hair and menacing faces. The taller of the two, although only slightly, had pale grey eyes. The shorter; green.

Between them they held a strip of cardboard with the name '_Fletcher_.' scrawled upon it. Scott made his way over to them, with some difficulty. He greeted them cheerfully, though there wasn't much to be cheerful about in the sweltering heat, crowded by people. The two men said nothing.

"You must be acquaintances of Mr. Vasseur." Scott held out his hand, but it wasn't shaken. Then men tossed their makeshift sign into a nearby bin and led Scott to a more remote area. There they tossed a pokeball onto the ground and a tall yellow pokemon appeared. Its ears were similar to a cats' and there was a ruff of white fur around its neck. A pendulum was swinging in its grasp. One of the men nodded at the hypno and suddenly the scenery dissolved away from around them.

They reappeared in Fuchsia city. Scott was led to a large building, embedded in the middle of a border of trees. The building looked old, there were tiles missing from the roof, paint peeling away on the door, brickwork crumbling. A very long time ago it was once used as the entrance to the Safari Zone. Now it was desolate, left to rot, to disguise what lay ahead.

One of the men pushed the door open. Damp hit Scott in the face as he walked in, visible mould was set in the cracks on the floor where the rain had dripped down through the gaps in the roof. The men continued forward, Scott followed. The rear door led back outside. What was once the Safari Zone, full of marshes, grassland, ponds, trees, rocks and, of course, pokemon, was now a newly built, vast building, somewhat resembling a laboratory.

Scott was led inside. The main room had been constructed so that it was as small as possible, leading off to many different rooms. Most of the doors were shut, plaques upon them, either displaying someone's name or displaying a certain type of room. At the far end of the corridor was an elevator. There didn't seem to be that many people around.

The elevator only had three buttons. First floor, Ground floor, Basement. The tallest of the two men pressed a button. The doors closed with a ping and Scott's stomach dropped as they traveled upwards. The trip didn't take long.

The doors opened, Scott had expected another cramped hallway. Instead there was just one huge room. It was dark, the curtains were closed, covering the lengthy window that took up almost the whole of the right wall. Lights were built in the hardwood floor, though they didn't give off much light. They stopped halfway, leaving the far end of the room shrouded in the dark. The walls were painted silver, supposedly to reflect the sunlight. Scott assumed that the whole darkness thing was for effect.

Despite the largeness of the room there was very little furniture. There were a few plants scattered around, but other than that, the entrance was empty. The far end, however, contained bookcases, a desk, a few chairs and a big plasma t.v hung on the left wall. Not that Scott could see that.

"Thank you Alastair, Dawson. That will be all." A deep voice rang out in the shadows. The men bowed and retreated. "Doctor Fletcher." A sneer was hidden. "Thank you for coming."

Scott looked around, trying to peer through the dark. "Not at all Mr. Vasseur, thank you for inviting me." He sounded uncertain. "Perhaps if you're unwilling to unveil yourself to me, I should see to my first client?"

There was a chuckle. A desk light flickered on, revealing the man called Carmine Vasseur. He preferred to be referred to formally, however. Perhaps it was the poor lighting, but his face looked almost unkind. He had hard features, nothing too distinguishing, apart from a slight scar that was etched in the corner of his left eye. When he blinked, you could see that it continued across his eyelid. His eyes were cold, grey. His hair was short and simple. Black, but that too could be due to the lighting. "Client?' He repeated lightly. A hint of a smile played upon his lips. "Ah, yes. I wouldn't quite use the word client. More…" He paused. "…Test dummy."

"Excuse me?" Scott now looked confused, alarmed. He was beginning to think he had been led here under false pretences.

Vasseur leaned forward, his chin resting on the tips of his fingers. "You've always wanted to practise medicine, have you not? Always wanted to find your own solutions, better solutions, rather than implement the ones that already exist. Am I right, Doctor Fletcher?"

"Yes, but…"

"You've always wanted to find cures for the incurable, solve the unsolvable, not hand out prescriptions and dish out advice." That wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"How do you know all this?"

Vasseur grinned, it did him no justice. In fact, he looked even more cruel. "I have my sources. I can offer you guinea pigs for your experiments."

Scott looked shocked by the offer. "I don't want to harm anyone!" He cried. "Yes I want to find solutions, cures, but not at the detriment of others!"

"Oh you won't be practicing on humans." Vasseur looked amused by Scott's reaction. "After all, I'm offering you this opportunity to protect, to save, the human race."

"Then…" If humans weren't the test subjects, then that left only one possibility…

Pokemon.

* * *

_Quite a long chapter, but hopefully it's cleared a few things up. _

_Still not many reviews, despite the fact that alerts have been added for this story. Odd, lol. Feedback is always welcome, even to criticize, though constructively. _


	14. James' first gym challenge

Kelsie and James left bright and early, the next morning. Professor Elm's wife was kind enough to fill up their lunchboxes with all sorts of goodies and give them a good breakfast. They thanked the generous family and waved goodbye to them as they left New Bark town and headed back to Violet city.

Kelsie had nestled the egg up, carefully, in the main pocket of her backpack. She did consider carrying it herself, but thought that it would be too restrictive, if she was forced to battle. She and James had decided to check it regularly, however, just in case it had decided to hatch.

"Still content on catching a water pokemon?" Kelsie chuckled, spotting James glance at the water, once they had set foot in Cherrygrove. James didn't respond. "We could always buy a fishing rod, spend the day fishing for your pokemon."

"It's ok." James was far more eager to face his first gym challenge. His scheduled appointment for twelve o'clock had been cancelled, but he had been assured that Falkner was fairly open throughout the day. If he made it back in time, he could face Falkner this afternoon.

They continued on their journey, stopping every so often to rest, battle a random trainer or wild pokemon or just to have a drink. The sun was giving off its usual summer heat rays, making the two of them uncomfortable and sweaty. Kelsie resolved to dip her feet in the lake, once they were at their destination.

Which didn't take long.

A few hours later, they were back in the familiar surroundings of Violet city. James couldn't keep still, as they took a break at the pokemon centre, lapping up the cool shade and air conditioning, as well as resting their feet, whilst their pokemon were healed by Nurse Joy.

"Here you are."

James was welcomed as he stepped into the empty gym. Falkner hadn't had that many contenders and was out, presumably training, with his bird pokemon. "He should be back soon." They were told. "He has a challenger later this afternoon, come back then."

James groaned, exiting the gym. He had been looking forward to his gym battle all day. So much so that he was getting rather impatient. Kelsie tried her best to console him, by saying that he had extra time to prepare and work on strategies. It didn't work too well.

Kelsie closed her eyes in satisfaction, feeling the coolness of the water swallow her feet. More than once, she was tempted to just jump straight in, till her horrific ordeal resurfaced in her mind. Magikarp nibbled her toes, mistaking them for bait. It tickled.

"Look!" She laughed, raising one of her feet into the air. A red fish, with yellow three-peaked fins on its back and stomach, was dangling off the end of her big toe. "I caught a magikarp!"

James paid no attention. He had, eventually, taken Kelsie's advice and was giving his pokemon strict training. Well, as strict as he could get. Spearow still hadn't completely warmed to his trainer. Yes, he obeyed him, but it didn't mean he had to like him, or respect him, just yet. He stared at James, bleakly, and carried on attacking strays, just not the way James wanted him to.

Rex was messing about too. Despite now fully grown, he still acted like a young puppy. He enjoyed gamboling around, pouncing on any prey he could find. James was practically tearing his hair out. He was desperate for Rex and spearow to work together, but they wouldn't. Well… not nicely. They became far too competitive and often stopped listening to James' commands, in order to outstrip each other. "Guys, please!" He begged. "Stop competing and listen to me!"

Kelsie giggled in the distance. James glowered at her and flopped down onto the dusty path, defeated. "James, I don't know why you're fussing so much. They won't be battling together anyway." That was true, but James had focused on them working together for a different reason. It had worked, they were no longer wary of one another, nor staring daggers, they hadn't been for a while. They were just determined to outdo each other now, to see who was the better pokemon. "Once you have your badge, I'm sure they'll listen to you better."

Resigned, James returned spearow to his pokeball. He had decided that Rex's ember would stand a better chance than spearow's peck. Were flying type moves even that effective against other flying types? He wasn't sure, but if the worst happened, he was sure spearow was strong enough to finish the job.

Another hour or so later, they headed back up to the gym. James was slightly more satisfied with how Rex's training went, with no spearow to compete with he was more willing to listen. James felt ready, excited, but still slightly nervous. That pidgeotto was a strong contender.

"Where's your magikarp?" James asked, using the topic to take his mind off of the big bird. Kelsie looked at him, confused. She had no idea what he was talking about. "The one you caught. With your toe."

"Oh! I didn't think you were even paying attention." Kelsie laughed. "I didn't catch it, I threw it back."

"Why?"

"I don't want a magikarp, I don't even like fish."

"But it evolves into gyrados." James mocked. It had worked, the nerves had evaporated. James was far too busy taunting Kelsie.

A male passed them, a silver badge, attached to his jacket, glinted in the sunlight. The boy looked smug. He was clearly Falkner's challenger, the one scheduled for the late afternoon. And he had clearly won, the proof was almost blinding them. "Oooh, Falkner's probably going to be pissed when he faces you. He just lost." James knew that Kelsie was just winding him up, Falkner didn't seem the type to get pissed, to him anyway. But it was working, the nerves were edging their way back in, flooding his body yet again.

Pressure. It certainly was a difficult thing to cope with. Be it high expectations of oneself or peer pressure, involving drugs, alcohol or smoking. The gym challenge was certainly like a drug. One hit and most felt overwhelmed, fixated on more. Especially a win. The feeling that engulfed you; that elation, it was hard to shake off. Even James felt it, and he hadn't even faced a gym leader yet, let alone won. The second hand smoke, the feeling of happiness when Kelsie had won and seeing that someone else had too, was enough. But still, it was a lot of pressure to pile upon oneself. No-ones expectations should be built so high. James knew that, yet he still expecting too much of himself.

"James…?" Kelsie's voice drifted closer. James opened his eyes. He was stood outside the gym, somehow he had drifted off into his own little world. "Welcome back. You went blank for a while there… blanker than usual." She sniggered.

He gulped, ignoring her, and entered. The welcoming blast of air conditioning hit him full on and the greeter's greeting roared distantly in his ears. He was only focused on the upcoming battle.

Falkner didn't looked pissed, annoyed or even portraying any negative emotion. Proof that Kelsie was winding James up. This eased the numbness that James was feeling. "Good luck!" Kelsie called, brightly, from the stands. There was no teasing tone, they were back to being civil to each other.

"Finally…" Falkner smiled at James, holding out his hand. "Finally felt brave enough to face me huh?" He joked. James said nothing, too afraid of sounding dumb or even too afraid of not being able to form actual words. He shook Falkner's hand and stepped back.

Rex leapt into the arena, eager as ever. The pidgey was audacious. It rose up into the air, slinging mud from its wings that narrowly missed Rex as he bounded, hyperactively, across the arena. "Rex, howl!" It was a move James had never used before. Rex had never demonstrated it either. He stared at his trainer for a few seconds, slightly confused. Rex wanted to attack, not sit there and whine.

Regardless, he obeyed. He sat back and lifted his head, tilting it back. The deafening sound that emitted from his throat was so loud, Falkner and James were forced to cover their ears. The pidgey, unable to cope from the noise, crashed back down onto the ground. It pottered around, dazed, before coming back to its senses and launching into a tackle that knocked Rex backwards.

"Ember Rex!"

"Quick pidgey, mud-slap again!" Rex had started to produce flames to spit at his prey, but pidgey took off into the air again. Mud and fire flew through the air, occasionally striking their target. Both pokemon were getting tired and weak.

"Rex, use howl again!" James stuffed his fingers in his ears, preparing for the loud wail. Falkner was at a loss of what to do, except keep attacking. Once or twice, mud hit Rex hard, weakening him greatly. Rex forced himself back up and began to dodge, emitting his howl whilst moving. The pidgey crashed back down and Rex pounce, producing another ember. Pidgey didn't get back up.

"Very good, very good." Falkner praised. "That was very entertaining, if not a little…loud." Pidgey was replaced by pidgeotto. Rex was panting, James knew he wouldn't last long. "Mud-slap!"

James ordered Rex to dodge, he obliged, but with less grace and speed than usual. A particularly large attack smacked Rex in the face and knocked him to the ground. "The challenger's pokemon is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins the round."

James had no choice, but to use spearow. He had prepared for this, but it didn't mean he was confident about it. Compared to pidgeotto's size, spearow looked tiny and pathetic.

"Use gust pidgeotto!"

"Spearow, fly up and dodge it!" Spearow obeyed, taking off and flying away from the wind the pidgeotto was forming with its wings. He flew forward, aiming for his target's head, his beak poised. Before he had the chance to attack, however, the gust took effect and forced spearow to fly back, colliding with the nearest wall. James cried out, unsure of what to do.

Falkner smiled and instructed his pidgeotto to use tackle to finish spearow off. James sunk to his knees. He had done his best and was extremely proud of his pokemon, but he had desperately wanted to win. High expectations, once again.

Spearow, however, wasn't giving up. He rose from the ground and flew up to avoid the pidgeotto's tackle attack. Too late, the pidgeotto noticed that spearow had disappeared and collided into the wall, unable to stop. Dazed, it staggered around. Spearow used the opportunity to use peck. James looked up at the sound of shrieks and gasped. "Spearow? Go on, keep attacking!" New found admiration filled James, as he watched his pokemon smash into the pidgeotto at full force, using his beak. The pidgeotto cried out and then hit the floor.

"Falkner's pokemon is unable to battle, Falkner is out of usable pokemon, the challenger wins!"

"Yay! James!" Kelsie had sped towards him, jumping down from the stands, and flung her arms around him. "Congratulations!"

"Well done. Fantastic battle." Falkner shook James' hand again and issued him with the Zephyr Badge and the same TM Kelsie had received. They exited the gym, James still admiring his first badge.


	15. Poliwag

Kelsie was right. Rex and spearow did listen to James more, now that he had his badge. Instead of messing around, they did their best to pay attention. They still enjoyed the occasional mess around, however.

James didn't particularly care, he was still delighted by his win. He was also immensely proud of his two pokemon and let them have their fun. He was intent on having fun too. He had jumped in the lake out on route thirty-two, much to the annoyance of the local fishermen. They grumbled, loudly, and shot him glares, as he dive-bombed his way into the water. Local pokemon scuttled off, scared.

Rex watched from the distance, enviously. Kelsie sat beside him, laughing. Mareep had been kept in her pokeball, just incase static built up in her wool and she electrocuted everyone by accident. However, the egg had been brought out and was nestled up in Kelsie's lap.

Spearow, ever curious, kept hopping up to the water's edge, dipping a claw into the cool liquid and then flying away. James laughed at him and splashed some water his way. Spearow glared at his trainer and landed by Rex and Kelsie, out of reach. "Come on!" James called out, splashing water, again. The fishermen's grumbles grew louder. Rex barked at his trainer, ducking behind Kelsie to hide from the spatters of water that flew their way. Kelsie covered her face with her arms. "The water's nice and refreshing. Get in!"

"No!" Kelsie flashed a grin, snaffling the hoody James had draped over his bag. She couldn't be bothered to root through hers and James' was still warm.

"Oi!" Another splash.

"What? It's cold." James stuck his tongue out, but didn't make any other response. Instead he dove under the water, scaring the remaining krabby and corsola away. A few tentacool, tentacruel and qwilfish lurked in the weeds, eyeing James, but making no movement.

Around ten minutes later, fed up of Kelsie playing chicken, James pulled himself back out of the water and strode over to the her and his two pokemon. Spearow scratched at the ground, lazily, it was evident that he was bored. Rex sniffed James, dodging the drips of water. Kelsie glanced up at the body standing over her, anxiously. A half-smile was frozen on her face. Before she could even ask or draw her own conclusions, James had pulled her up and dragged her towards the water's edge.

"James…? NO! No James… Don't!"

**SPLASH!**

Kelsie surfaced, spluttering, her hair spread all over her face. The lurking jellyfish and blowfish-like pokemon scarpered. "You…" Kelsie shivered, pointing her finger at the male who couldn't stand for laughing. "…You, just wait."

"You… look like… a… sea monster!"

Seething, but struggling not to laugh, Kelsie pulled herself onto land. James was still doubled over with laughter, almost rolling around. Tears formed in his eyes.

"Have you finally finished?!" One of the fishermen called out, before Kelsie could do or say anything further, the animosity still in his eyes. "Can we _finally _go back to fishing?!" He picked his fishing rod up from the floor. "Not that there will be any fish left, you've scared them all off!"

"He's talking about the way you look." James hissed, after getting up and dusting himself off.

There was another loud splash and this time, James resurfaced. He shook his head, spraying water, and spat out the large mouthful he had almost swallowed. Kelsie hid a grin. The fisherman, along with his fellow buddies, started to shout abuse, now successfully ticked off. Kelsie decided it was time to leave.

* * *

**SPLASH!**

A small, blue, tadpole poked its head out of the bushes. It spotted the houndour laying on the grass, eyes closed, an egg beside him. The spearow had wandered off to another patch of grass, bored. The two trainers were off in the distance, playing in and near the water.

The poliwag fully emerged from the bushes, its body and tail fully visible. The spiral pattern on its stomach almost opaque in the dim evening.

It waddled closer. The bushes rustled behind it and an angry shopkeeper pounced. The poliwag squeaked and toddled closer to the houndour and the egg. "C'mere you!"

The shopkeeper's snarls were drowned out by the fisherman's yells. The poliwag squealed and considered attacking the nearby pokemon for help. "Where are you going to run now, you little thief!?"

* * *

Rex yelped as he was splashed with water. He leapt up and spun round, growling at his attacker. The poliwag looked even more scared. It dodged its way around the maddened pokemon, trying to avoid the shopkeeper's grasp. It failed. Two strong hands closed in on its body, trapping it. However, due to its body being naturally damp and slippery, poliwag popped out of his grasp with ease.

"Hey!" Kelsie had just spotted the commotion. The poliwag squealed again and ducked behind Rex. Rex, however, was still holding a grudge from poliwag's previous water gun attack. "Rex, stop it!" Rex took heed and stopped trying to attack back. He carried on snarling though. "Who are you? And why are you terrorizing that poor pokemon?"

"Terrorizing? Me?" The shopkeeper let out a slight laugh. Kelsie recognized his appearance- short, slightly pudgy, a mop of brown hair plastered on his head. He was the shopkeeper in Violet city. "This little scamp is the terror!" His voice boomed as he got angry. "This poliwag keeps stealing from my shop!"

"What's going on?" James had finally joined them. He was soaked once again. "Kelsie?"

"This poliwag keeps stealing something from my shop, every night, before I close up…" The shopkeeper continued. The poliwag stared at him, still squealing every so often. Its tone was an angry one now. It hopped up and down, knocking the egg over. It rolled towards the shopkeeper. "Aha! See! It probably stole that egg too!"

"How can a poliwag steal?" James asked, mumbling slightly. His words were still heard though. "They don't have any arms." He was making a perfectly innocent observation, but the shopkeeper still glared at him.

"That egg…" Kelsie interjected, before the shopkeeper could bite back. "…Is my egg. The poliwag just knocked it over. By accident." She, too, wasn't convinced that the poliwag was a thief. And she was wet, freezing and tired. "Where's your proof?"

"Proof?!" He spat. "Why should I need proof?! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

"How about checking the footage on the shop's security camera?" James suggested, hoping to settle this soon so that he could go to bed. The shopkeeper grumbled, but eventually agreed it would resolve the situation. The three of them, Rex, spearow and the poliwag trudged up to the pokemon mart.

"There!" He paused the tape and zoomed in. A small, blue pokemon was only just visible on the screen. The poliwag. It was hopping about happily, getting fussed over by shoppers. It certainly enjoyed attention. "Keep watching." An over-eager hop made the pokemon accidentally knock over a shelf of goodies with its tail. It stopped hopping and tried to help the shoppers pick the merchandise up, but the lack of arms restricted that. The shopkeeper zoomed in some more and they all saw the poliwag leave the shop, something dangling off the end of its tail. The poliwag was none the wiser.

"Poli!" It cried angrily, but also a little ashamed.

"Oh come on!" James wasn't convinced. "It clearly didn't mean to! It was too excited and knocked a bunch of stuff over. By accident, might I add. Something must have just gotten stuck on its tail!"

"So where is my stuff now?"

"How do I know?! Just leave the poor little poliwag alone!" They left the shop, leaving the shopkeeper to grumble to himself. Once they had gone, he stuck a sign in the window; '_No pokemon allowed!_'

Still slightly angered, Kelsie and James entered the pokemon centre. The poliwag followed them in. "I think it likes you." Kelsie giggled. "Since you stood up for it." But to her surprise, the poliwag waddled over to her, a smile on its face.

It was James' turn to laugh. Kelsie knelt down and patted it on the head. There was an oily feel to it. "Go on," She said. "It's ok now, he won't bother you." But the poliwag stayed where it was.

"I think it wants you to capture it." James hissed.

Kelsie pulled a pokeball out of her bag. "Do you?" She asked, the poliwag squealed in delight. Kelsie threw the red and white ball and watched as the poliwag dissolved into it, once touched. The ball hit the floor and wobbled once…twice…three times before becoming still and the button in the middle glowing red to indicate that the poliwag had been caught.

* * *

_Ok, so this chapter was slightly sucky, but everyone has an off day…_


	16. Union cave

'_Poliwag, the tadpole pokemon. It has no arms, but its tail makes it a good swimmer. This poliwag's level is twenty and is female. The moves known are; bubble, hypnosis, water gun and doubleslap._' Poliwag stood in front of her new trainer, amazed by the pokedex. She hated her new pokeball, however, and refused to stay in it. She really did love attention. When Kelsie went to the pokemart to stock up on essentials, poliwag sneaked in with her. Thankfully, the shopkeeper from last night wasn't around.

Poliwag squealed in delight at the ribbons. After much hinting, Kelsie finally figured it out and when they left the shop, several minutes later, poliwag had a brand new red bow attached to her tail. Of course she didn't leave mareep out. Kelsie had bought her a yellow one to attach to her tail too.

James had taken to poliwag pretty quickly too. He nicknamed her 'Polly', not just to shorten her name, but because '_Poli!_'' seemed to be her favourite saying. 'Polly' didn't seem to mind, she was pretty easy going and, much to James' delight, didn't even mind dousing him with her water gun when it got too hot.

A few days after 'rescuing' poliwag from the angry shopkeeper, Kelsie and James decided to head for Azalea town. They had been putting it off due to the fact that neither of them felt like navigating through the cave that blocked their path. They didn't particularly want to navigate the long way round either. Finally, they had reached a decision, feeling that they couldn't avoid it any longer. Union cave awaited.

It was dark and dank inside. Dripping water could be heard, but not seen, although the many patches of water occasionally rippled. The ground often shook, a sign that wild onix were burrowing about underground. Kelsie wasn't a fan of closed spaces. The cave's rocky walls seemed unstable and she was terrified that they would crumble down and trap her and James in. 'Polly' led the way, bright as usual. Instead of wobbling around on her legs like she was unused to walking, 'Polly' preferred to hop. She would bound ahead, sometimes waddling back to check on her trainer.

"Poli, poli, poli-wag." She sang. "Poli, poli, poliiii-wag!"

Mareep didn't like the cave either, but that was probably due more to the creatures that lurked in the shadows. Eyes often watched the group from behind rocks and a few 'rocks' sometimes shook. All immune to electric attacks. Even the wooper that watched from the pools of water, were unaffected by the jolts.

Zubat hung from the ceiling. Blue and purple bats with fangs. Kelsie shuddered at their sight. This place gave her the creeps.

James, Rex and spearow, however, were nonchalant. Despite the fact that Rex and spearow, like mareep, were at a weakness. Like the other trainers, James didn't mind the dreary atmosphere. As he walked further in, he even began to wonder what he had been so afraid of. None of the pokemon bothered them, most were acting too scared to even appear. And none of the trainers had challenged them yet. It also was a good opportunity to capture a good rock/ground pokemon.

Easier said than done.

Several attempts ended with James having to seize Rex and run for it, before Rex got too badly hurt. Others ended with an angry geodude, or the occasional sandshrew, trying to attack him personally, enraged by Rex's ember or James' kicks. Things were not going well.

To top things off, James was challenged to a battle. Kelsie sat down, with her pokemon, to watch. The trainer grinned and released both of his pokemon- koffing. Unfortunately, it appeared he was new to battling, as he ordered his pokemon to use smog; producing thick, black fog, that prevented the trainers from seeing anything. Coughing and spluttering, the three trainers groped around in the mist, trying to find their way to safety. Spearow came to the rescue, beating his wings to waft the smoky air away. The koffing's trainer grinned sheepishly and slunk away, not pursuing the battle.

James sloped ahead, grumbling.

Eventually, they tumbled out onto the soft grass, sunlight and sweet-smelling air surrounding them. Something Kelsie welcomed very much. They were covered in dirt, scratches were covering most of their bare skin, obtained from a group of crazy, wild rattata, and Rex, mareep and spearow were greatly weakened from the many battles they had encountered towards the exit. 'Polly' had proved very useful, however, her water attacks defeating the onix, geodude, sandshrew and a trainer's vulpix almost immediately.

They had even gotten lost, though both were unsure of how. The cave's path was pretty straightforward, after all. They had, somehow, staggered up a rocky platform and ended up falling down a ladder leading to a dead end, one that wasn't accessible unless they had chosen to swim across. Which they hadn't. What exactly was a ladder doing in a cave anyway?

But none of that mattered now. They were back outside, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the ever-strong sunlight warm their skin. And burn them, before long. Azalea town wasn't far, just a short walk up the path. Kelsie and James were relieved, they wanted to heal their pokemon and rest themselves.

"Hold up!" A rather bulky man stepped in their path, hand raised to stop them. Judging by his attire he was a mountaineer, or a hiker. "You may not pass!"

"Why not?" James' patience was evaporating exceedingly quickly. He was tired, dirty, sore and already peeved that he couldn't catch a rock/ground type pokemon. Or defeat a simple trainer. He had lost a lot of money in that cave, forfeiting battles to prevent his pokemon fainting, just because the opposition had denied his request to use Kelsie's poliwag.

And now, he was being stopped from reaching the pokemon centre.

"Because I challenge you to a battle!" Kelsie and James exchanged glances. With the exception of 'Polly', their other pokemon had been confined to their pokeballs due to how weakened they had become. They needed rest more than their trainers did. "Ah… I see. You're chickens!" The hiker let out a booming laugh. He reminded Kelsie of the sailor they had met on their first day in Johto. "That's ok, I'm feeling generous. You both can take me on together."

This still wasn't a relief to them. Granted they had 'Polly' and she could definitely handle ground, rock and fire pokemon. Maybe a few other types. But if an electric or grass pokemon was thrown into the mix, they were done for. Unless they brought out one of their weakened ones.

However, it seemed that they had no choice.

"Go on then Polly!" James instructed, somewhat resigned. "Polly' looked at him, but did nothing. She may have loved attention, but she was extremely loyal to her trainer in terms of battling. She wouldn't carry out any instructions unless instructed to do so by Kelsie. With the exception of emergencies and dire situations, of course.

The hiker let out another booming laugh, clearly under the impression that these two trainers were weak. "Poliwag, lets go." Kelsie took charge while James sat on a nearby rock, muttering under his breath. Poliwag hopped in front of her trainer eagerly. The hiker was slightly surprised at the co-operation, but recovered by throwing a pokeball in front of him. A geodude materialised.

A slight smile escaped from Kelsie's lips. Poliwag could probably take it out with bubble. However, she wasn't going to push her luck. "Water gun!" She called, 'Polly' bounded eagerly forward and opened her mouth to let out a large jet of water. The geodude was forced backwards from the pressure and slammed into a nearby tree. It lay on the ground, stunned, before weakly pushing itself up and then falling back down.

"Huh, look at that…" The hiker was stumped. "How did…?" His thoughts on these two trainers were rapidly changing. Another pokeball was thrown onto the ground, once geodude was returned. A machop appeared.

"Want to use any of your pokemon?" Kelsie asked, but James was still sulking. Kelsie rolled her eyes and took that as a no. She half considered using mareep, but felt that she was slightly too tired to battle.

The grey, two-legged pokemon made the first move. Its red eyes fixed themselves on 'Polly' and she backed away, her defence lowered from the leer. Kelsie quickly ordered poliwag to use doubleslap, 'Polly' waddled forward and swung her tail in the machop's direction, but it ducked and poliwag's tail sailed over the ridges that were set in the machop's head. It stuck its leg out to make an attack and 'Polly' tripped, the low kick attack hitting her in the stomach.

She cried out and tried to get up, but the machop was quicker. Its hand slammed down, karate chopping 'Polly' repeatedly. Kelsie cried out this time and instructed her pokemon to use bubble. A stream of medium sized bubbles flew from poliwag's mouth, hitting machop square in the face and forcing it blindly back. Poliwag sprung up and quickly hopped away.

"Hypnosis!" Poliwag's eyes locked onto machop's and she swayed slightly, her eyes unblinking. The machop slid to the floor and within seconds began snoring.

"Grrr…" The machop disappeared in a flash and the angry hiker threw a fistful of money in Kelsie's direction. "Pass!" Kelsie did so happily.

"Here." She handed James the money she won, for the loss of his in Union cave. He stared at her, dumbfounded. Before he could say anything, or even reject, Kelsie and 'Polly' continued their way to Azalea.


	17. Open and confined spaces

Kelsie down right refused to take the money back. She argued that she felt guilty about James losing most of his money, because she couldn't step in and help. She also argued that she felt guilt that her poliwag didn't listen to him. James couldn't argue back.

"Well, your poliwag is only supposed to listen to you." Was the only argument he could make. 'Polly' looked sorry too.

It was all forgotten about, once they entered the pokemon centre. Poliwag, of course, was fine and only needed a little rest. Rex, spearow and mareep, on the other hand, needed a long one. Nurse Joy assured the two trainers that their pokemon would be fine in her capable hands if they wanted to go and explore the town. So, Kelsie and James set off with 'Polly'.

"She likes the name Polly." Kelsie said, absent-mindedly, watching her pokemon hop around. James looked at her, slightly embarrassed. _He_ had named the poliwag 'Polly', after all. "I think I should just get it over and done with and call her Polly." James said nothing. He had the feeling Kelsie was talking more to herself than to him.

The three of them wandered around the town. It was smaller than Violet city, more close knit, and was even smaller than Cherrygrove and New Bark town. The ground consisted mostly of grass and flowers, butterfrees, from the forest nearby, fluttered in the air. There were fewer people too. Mostly shoppers. One or two were heading off to Union cave.

James wanted to sneak a peek at the gym to see what they would be up against. Inside was a maze of bushes and trees, trainers everywhere. Not challengers, but those who tested you to see if you were good enough to face the leader. Bug pokemon were at their sides. Good news for James. Both his pokemon were at an advantage. However, Kelsie wasn't. Mareep's electric attacks didn't work too well against grass, she had a feeling they would be the same against bugs. And Polly, well, Polly was a water pokemon. Any grass type moves and she would be doomed.

* * *

Scott was led to the laboratory, after being shown his own personal office where he would conduct his studies. He was told, by the man Vasseur had called 'Dawson', that he wasn't the only doctor invited here.

_Invited_, Scott thought. _That's an odd way of putting it._

Not that he had met any, but there were researchers here too. Scientists. Scott wondered why they, along with him, were all here. Why did Vasseur want pokemon to be test subjects? Guinea pigs to test out medical cures for humans. Why?

"This way." The deep voice brought Scott back to the present. He was led down the long corridor to two wide doors, at the very end, opposite the elevator. Other than Vasseur's office, the only colour walls Scott had seen were white. Actually, white wasn't even a colour, it was a shade. It reminded him of a mental hospital he had once visited. _These people __**are**__ mental, operating on innocent pokemon_. He resolved he would have no part in it. He would escape as soon as he could.

* * *

Kelsie had come to the conclusion that she would catch either a fire or a flying pokemon, before she challenged the gym leader. No matter how much faith she had in her pokemon, she felt that she couldn't risk it.

So far it had been narrowed down to three pokemon. The only fire pokemon she had encountered were the growlithe out on route thirty-seven. The only way to get back there was either through the forest or Union cave and Kelsie didn't feel like venturing back through there anytime soon. Growlithe was ruled out.

Which left the flying type pokemon. She had only encountered spearows and pidgeys so far. In her opinion, pidgeys were cuter. The nearest place to catch one of them was in the forest.

Some time later, it was decided that they would get their pokemon back from the pokemon centre and then have a picnic lunch in the forest, so that Kelsie could catch a pidgey. James' stomach growled in agreement. Nurse Joy greeted them in her usual attitude- a pleasant smile set on her kind face. Her chansey hurried into the back room to retrieve their pokemon, whilst Nurse Joy handed them back their pokeballs.

Next, the two of them headed to the mart to buy supplies for their picnic. James spent most of the winnings Kelsie had given him on sweets such as doughnuts, cakes and chocolates. He bought a big bottle of lemonade and various treats that Rex sniffed out. Kelsie was more sensible. Rather than waste her money, she bought sandwiches and usual picnic delights- sausage rolls, crisps, scotch eggs etc.

Soon they were sat in the shade, the forest trees blocking the annoying sunlight from their view. The long grass tickled their legs as they had walked, so once they had chosen a spot, James rolled on the ground, trying to flatten it. Getting rather dirty in the process. He didn't care, he hadn't cleaned up from the cave yet.

To his delight, Rex and Polly joined in and soon a small patch of grass was flattened, ready for them to sit on. It was peaceful out in the forest. Aside from the small group, the only other living creatures around were pokemon. There were butterfree flitting from flower to flower here too, sleeping hoothoot were resting on the upper branches of the trees, bugs trekked through the grass. None dared to disturb, though, Rex seemed to scare them from approaching.

"Finally!" James sighed, contentedly, tucking into a sandwich Kelsie handed him. Mayo dripped down his chin as he wolfed it down. Crumbs sprayed everywhere as he tried to express his gratitude with words. Pity his mouth was full at the time. Rex happily chomped at sausage rolls and the chicken from a chicken salad sandwich Kelsie gave him. Mareep tucked into the berries she so desired. Kelsie wished she had bought some weetabix. Spearow seemed to like the cake, so Kelsie decided to keep some for later, for pidgey baiting.

Unfortunately, Polly had to be fed, due to the lack of arms. And Kelsie had no idea what her new pokemon preferred. Over the last few days, Polly picked at her meals. Kelsie had experimented with a little bit of everything, but so far, Polly hadn't favoured anything.

This time, Kelsie tried some lettuce from the leftovers of Rex's sandwich. Polly looked at it cautiously and then took it, chewing thoughtfully. Other than fruit, Kelsie hadn't tried anything that wasn't meaty or sweet. Judging by the look on Polly's face, she liked the salad. She was a vegetarian.

Soon, they heard footsteps. A short boy was running their way, calling out for a farfetch'd. He looked worried. He ran past the group, still shouting. Kelsie and James looked at each other, silently asking if they should help. Their pokemon looked concerned too.

"Um, excuse me..." Kelsie, timidly, made the first move. She had approached the young male and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy jumped and slowly turned to face her, his blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Dad is going to kill me." He said.

* * *

Scott gasped. Hundreds upon hundreds of eyes stared at him, scared and pitiful. The whole room was filled with cages, big and small. Inside were pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Scott knew they were still alive; he could see them blinking, see their chests rise and fall when they dared to breathe. But they weren't moving. They either stood or sat in their limited space, mouths clamped firmly shut by choice or by something invisible compelling them to. Scott wondered why they didn't just break free.

"Your test subjects." Dawson led him to the middle of the room, so he could look around and get a better view at which pokemon they had. He held a sneer on him face, unaffected by the cruelty. In fact, his eyes were portraying no emotion, they were cold, like steel. How appropriate that they were the exact colour. "Note that they are perfectly still…"

"Yes, what have you done to them?!" The accusation rang around the room, causing a few pokemon to lift their heads and look their way. So, they could move.

"…They have been fitted with a device," Dawson continued, like he had never been interrupted. "A device that weakens them. Even a simple bite or scratch will not affect you. Master Vasseur thought it would be easier to operate that way."

"Sick… So sick…"

"We have many different species, types, and we are accumulating more each day. Not just for your research, but for Vasseur's personal pet project." Scott didn't know if the word 'pet' was used as a sick pun, but he felt disgusted nonetheless. How could these people do this? And why were there doctors and scientists going along with it? "I'm sure he will reveal all to you in time."

Dawson continued through the room, pushing open the door rested in the left wall. The laboratory. "Vasseur apologises that your office is so far away, but unfortunately you are the last of our desired doctors to arrive."

"I assure you, I won't be staying." Dawson said nothing to this, but smiled in a way that Scott didn't like. It made him feel uneasy.

There were all sorts of contraptions in the lab. A computer rested in the far corner, a whiteboard hung on the back wall, an operating table lay on the far right side. Shelves and cupboards cluttered the room, containing various medical equipment. Scott's sickened feeling increased, imaging what took place here.

Dawson seemed to mistake the look on Scott's face. "This isn't the only lab we have." He said. "This is the smallest, to give you privacy. Vasseur said you liked to work alone. In a much more confined space." The room was rather small, there were no windows either. Looking around again, Scott spotted security cameras in two of the corners. So, they were going to be keeping tabs on him.

It also struck his attention that Dawson had said this wasn't the only lab. The others were obviously sharing the rest. Scott had a hard time comprehending how they were ok with this.

"I have to speak with Vasseur." He stuttered. Dawson nodded and led him back through the pokemon storage room. Scott took a proper look around at the pokemon, mentally promising them that he would help them escape. He was almost out of the room, having looked at almost all of the pokemon there, when he spotted another door, half hidden by the cages. He didn't even bother to ask Dawson what was in there, instead he entered. Dawson stayed by the exit, his sneer still in place.

Scott entered a room similar to the last. Caged pokemon were in here too, except these were rarer. Many were bigger. Just like before, Scott looked at them all, trying to force his mental promise into theirs minds too. He had almost walked a full circle when he stopped. In front of him, standing in a cage the same size as its height and only just wider, was a weakened and saddened pokemon...

A typhlosion.


	18. Farfetch'd and hoothoot

_Thank you to Frizz.22 for reading, reviewing, adding this story as a favourite and adding an alert. You officially rock! :) _

The boy had explained that he had lost the farfetch'd his dad used to cut down trees for charcoal. He had been given the duty this morning, but had forgotten all about it and had gone to play with his friends. The farfetch'd meanwhile, under the boy's care, had gotten bored and flew off, back to Ilex forest. Which was where they all were now.

Kelsie and James offered to help look for the pokemon. The boy thanked them profusely and the three of them set off into the thicket of trees.

They had decided to split up. James headed straight, whilst Kelsie took the left path and the boy took the right. Spearow soared overhead, getting a better view of the forest below him. He had also been instructed to keep an eye out in the skies, just in case farfetch'd decided to take off again. Rex was poking his nose in nearby bushes, occasionally torching stray bugs.

Mareep walked beside Polly, who was, as usual, bounding ahead. Kelsie had had a brainwave and was sprinkling cake crumbs in the grass, leading back to the clearing. She knew that this would either attract the farfetch'd, pidgey or bug pokemon and she was prepared for them all. Bug pokemon she would battle, to get her pokemon used to them and figure out a battle plan if the worse came to worst. Pidgey she would also battle, in the hope of catching. And the farfetch'd, she would use the cake crumbs to bait it and lead it back to the boy.

There was a rustle. Kelsie hushed her pokemon and waited. A caterpie popped its head out of a bush and wriggled over to the cake crumbs happily. Polly and mareep waited for further instructions, but none came. Kelsie was looking at the bug with adoration. It was so cute. In her opinion, anyway.

"Found anything yet?!" The caterpie looked up, alarmed, and then squirmed away at the sound of heavy footsteps and the unnecessary loud voice. James came to a stand still a few centimetres away from where the caterpie once lay, eating. He was grinning, but his grin faltered when he saw the angry look on Kelsie's face. "What?"

"I was going to catch that!"

"Oh, did I scare away a pidgey?" James asked, looking apologetic and scanning the area around him for the one he scared or a replacement.

"No. A caterpie." Kelsie pushed past him and headed off to a different part of the forest to avoid his ridicule.

* * *

"Seb… Seb, where are you?" A gruff sounding voice called out, as its owner made his way into the forest. The little boy poked his head of a bush at the sound of his name and then quickly disappeared again, but the man had spotted him. "Sebastian! Get here now!"

Sebastian sighed and clambered out of the hedge. "Yes father?" He avoided looking into his father's eyes. He could always tell that something was wrong when he pierced his son with his amber eyes. Something that most parents could do.

"The farfetch'd, where is he?"

"I lost him father." Sebastian bent his head. The father stared at his son's jet black hair in a mixture of anger and worry. "I'm sorry. I…" His father held up a hand to stop him. Sebastian lowered his head in shame, yet again.

"Lost? How?" The boy repeated his story, his father's expression hardening with every word.

* * *

"Fetch'd?" A brown, duck-like creature looked down on the ground at the cake crumb and sniffed it. It smelt sweet. He gobbled it up and sniffed the air for more.

The leek it carried wobbled, as the farfetch'd ran forward, following the scent. Crumb after crumb it ate, before;

"Gotcha!" Kelsie pounced, half hoping for a pidgey. The farfetch'd gave a frightened squawk and wiggled in her grasp. Kelsie held on tight, praying that she wasn't hurting it. She carried the pokemon back to the clearing, looking for the boy, and was surprised to see him being told off by an older male. "Hey…!" She started, but shut her mouth once the man had turned around. His features were extremely similar to the boys. It must have been his father.

"Farfetch'd!" He cried, running forward and scooping the duck from Kelsie's grasp. Farfetch'd snuggled back, happy to be back with his owner. "Thank you." Kelsie just nodded, at a loss of what to say. The man shot a dismissive look at his son and Sebastian retreated from the forest, after glancing gratefully at Kelsie. "Take this as a token of my gratitude and as an apology." He handed her a shiny disc. "It is the HM cut. I no longer need it." He, too, left the forest.

"Kelsie?!" Kelsie could hear James in the distance, calling out her name, presumably looking for her. She called back and within moments, James appeared. "Well, I had no luck." He sounded a little glum.

"I found it…"

"Figures."

"…And I got this." She showed him the disc. "It's another HM. It contains cut. I assume that it's used to hack our way through the remainder of this forest, safely."

"And we need the gym badge to use it?" James guessed, Kelsie shrugged.

* * *

Its eyes pleaded for help.

Scott came closer and heard the poor creature growl. Although zapped of any strength it had, by some device, it still insisted on trying to escape. Snarling at anything it deemed a threat. To Scott, that alone was terrifying.

He couldn't be sure it was hers. After all, there must have been a fair few cyndaquil given out by Professor Elm almost every week. But maybe it was just instinct. He reached out and touched the cold bars, holding on to it to steady his nerve as he whispered one word; "Kelsie?"

* * *

"Given up?" It was approaching evening and Kelsie had emerged from the thicket of trees, back from training. Her hopes of catching a pidgey were dwindling rapidly.

"I thought they were common." She sighed, sinking down onto the tall grass, ignoring how itchy it was. She took the bottle of water James handed her and began to drink. She hadn't realized how thirsty she had become.

James had poured out water for his pokemon in a makeshift water bowl. Mareep padded over to it and lapped some up. Polly forced James to give her drink by hand. Kelsie smiled at the look on his face.

"You could always catch a hoothoot." James jerked his head in the direction of the nearest tree. A hoothoot was taking flight, presumably to catch itself some dinner. It resembled an owl, only one foot visible, with huge amber eyes and clock-hand features for eyebrows and eyelashes. Not as cute as a pidgey. Surely cuter than a scraggly spearow.

_Mental note… _Kelsie thought to herself. _…Don't pick a pokemon just for appearance._

In response she merely shrugged. She had spent most of the day unsuccessfully hunting for a pidgey. Did she really want to waste her evening, and most of the night, searching for an owl?

She looked her pokemon. If the hoothoot were flying around, mareep could probably jolt them in the sky. It would appear seemingly easy. Neither mareep nor Polly looked worn out. Admittedly, they hadn't done much today. Just stomp a few weak bug pokemon and follow Kelsie around looking for her two desired pokemon. Yes, two. She hadn't encountered another caterpie either.

"Fine!" She got back up and walked over to a nearby tree. She grabbed hold of the trunk and shook with all her might. Two weedle fell out, miraculously remaining asleep. Polly swung her tail at them, slamming them into another tree and they awoke, before wriggling away, scared.

A fair few tree shaking moments later, Kelsie was faced with one of the owlish creatures. It cocked its head to the side, in a kind of cute way, staring curiously at its opponent. Kelsie could literally see the smile on its face. Either mocking her, or just being, well… cute.

"Mareep, you know what to do." Kelsie didn't even need to say that. Her electric pokemon built up the static and did what she did best. Zap bird pokemon.

The hoothoot screeched in shock, loosing its coolness. It tried to flap its wings to take off, but mareep struck again. It hit the floor, dazed. Having never done this before, Kelsie stared at the pokeball for a few seconds and then threw it. Her only experience with obtaining a pokemon via capture was with Polly. And she wanted to be captured. This one, however, didn't. And despite the fact that it was weak to electric attacks, Kelsie had a feeling that this hoothoot was a stubborn little fella.

She was right. The ball burst back open with a burst of blinding white light and hoothoot was back on one foot. Shaken.

"Tackle it!" Mareep obeyed and slammed, head first, into the poor owl. Again, it landed on the floor, not getting up.

Another ball was thrown, and rejected. Hoothoot made a feeble caw, but staggered upright, its mocking look back in place. Mareep growled and used a final thundershock. Hoothoot, for the third time, fell. Its eyes closed and its chest deflated in defeat. A final red and white coloured ball was thrown and after three shakes, hoothoot was hers.


	19. Vasseur's plan

The typhlosion stopped snarling and his eyes lit up at the name. His owner's, his friend's, name. Kelsie. How did this stranger know her? If he knew, then did this mean he wasn't going to hurt him, like the others had?

He, with difficulty, moved forward. It wasn't just the limited space that restricted him, but the device fitted to his right leg. It looked like a tag a criminal would wear during house arrest. It acted like a shackle. Some unknown force flooded his body, and any other pokemon who wore it, and drugged them. Their minds were filled with lead and any movement made caused them to feel pain. Such cruelty.

This man, though, he didn't look like _them_. He looked as scared as the pokemon. And he knew his beloved trainer. Despite every inch of his body screaming in protest, typhlosion moved closer, boring his eyes into the stranger, willing against all hope that this was his saviour.

_Reunite the two lost souls that will forever be intertwined. Save the pokemon. Resist all evil that surges through your body._

The man reached out and placed a trembling hand on typhlosion paw. He held his wary look, but gave in to the hope.

_Save us…_

* * *

The door to Vasseur's office slammed into the wall as it was thrown open with such a force. Alastair rose from his seat, shooting a worried glance at his brother. Dawson shook his head, this man was no threat.

Both brothers looked at their superior. He waved a hand and they left. Scott Fletcher was no match for the mighty Vasseur.

"How could you…? How **dare** you…?" Every inch of Scott was shaking in anger. He had been led here under false pretences, witnessed hundreds of pokemon cruelly caged, been told of horrific plans and was expected to carry them out. Not another minute would he stand back and watch.

If he was clever, however, he would have ran straight out and called the police, instead of having it out with the mastermind.

"_Doctor_ Fletcher." The use of the term was sneered at. Vasseur looked colder than ever at Scott's anger. His reaction had been expected, but it wasn't something he would have liked to deal with. "Is there a problem?"

Seething, Scott stormed up to the desk pummelled his fist onto the fine oak. "Problem!?" He spat. "If disgust at your scandal is a problem, then yes, I HAVE A PROBLEM!"

"Admitting it is the first step to recovery." Vasseur quoted calmly. Whether he making a joke of the situation or being sincere, Scott couldn't tell. Either way it made him madder.

"Why did you bring me here? Why are you doing this?" He paced, his face distorted. "How… It's…" The words would not come.

"Please, take a seat." Vasseur gestured in front of him, indicating the empty chair.

Scott glared at his calmness. He wanted, no he _demanded_, answers. He would not let this monstrosity continue for another moment. When he saw that Vasseur would say no more till he sat, however, he did as he was told, unwillingly.

"Doctor Fletcher. I bring you here with the promise that you will receive test subjects to carry out your scientific discoveries…"

"No, you promised me clients."

"I merely sugar coated it for you." Was the response. "As I was saying, I promised you guinea pigs, I gave you exactly that. All I ask, in return, is the destruction of the entire pokemon race." Scott's eyes filled with fear, overriding the fury. He was not expecting that. "If you feel you cannot grant me that favour, I do have an alternative."

Scott looked at Vasseur, studying his face. It held steady, no flicker of a lie. "Which is…?"

"My personal pet project." Sickened pun use again. Deliberate? Most likely. "Either that or you can _try _to leave." Scott didn't like the use of the word 'try'. Vasseur seemed to notice this. "Surely you didn't think we would let you leave, let you run off and expose our plan, did you?" He laughed, sinisterly. "So naïve."

"What is your project?" Scott wasn't agreeing to anything, not without answers. And boy, did he want a lot of answers. It was going to be a long night.

Vasseur said nothing for a few minutes. The look upon his face, as he pondered, was almost human. The remaining anger that filled Scott's body froze, fear overcoming. Was this project something worse.

"I want a pokemon." The silence was broken with a hoarse sound, coming from Vasseur. He looked vaguely disgusted at himself with his wish. The dramatic change in his voice sounded like it had battled to stay trapped inside himself, not let the words escape. "The most powerful pokemon ever. More powerful than the legendary mewtwo." Scott opened his mouth to speak, but, regaining his strength, Vasseur carried on; "I realize that to capture every single pokemon, to destroy them whilst helping the marvels of medicine, would be impossible. It would take multiple lifetimes to achieve." He stood up and walked over to the, now unveiled, window. "Hence the pokemon. So strong, so powerful, it would instantaneously destroy any pokemon in its path."

"What do you have against pokemon?"

"Why do I need to explain myself to you?"

"If you want me to work for you, I want an explanation."

Vasseur turned sharply, shooting Scott a glare that made the hairs on his arms stand on end. "If you are thinking you can try to console me, you are wrong." Scott waited, but Vasseur said nothing more. The two of them stared at each other for a long time.

"You're hell bent on destroying the entire pokemon race and I want no part of it." Scott said, eventually.

"You know where the door is." Vasseur turned away again. Scott knew he wouldn't be allowed to just leave. He had to think of something if he ever wanted to rescue the pokemon already captured. And himself.

* * *

_Very short. But the next chapter is going to be long, don't worry. I had to add this. Also, yes I know that the villain's plot is rather lame- destroying all the pokemon blah blah blah, but I didn't want to use the Team Rocket approach of capturing rare and powerful pokemon. I needed a motive, I have a motive, just a lame plan :S Lol._

_Hopefully you all don't read this and think 'omg, how crap!' :S_

_Anyway, just a little note to say, thank you all for reading and for Frizz.22 and Syzdoth for becoming avid fans (I hope my lameness doesn't put you off :P) You're both awesome! _

_Till next chapter!_

_Oh, I thought I'd add a disclaimer, as I haven't actually done one and feel I ought to._

_Disclaimer:: I don't own pokemon, however I do own Kelsie Knight, Doctor (Scott) Fletcher, Liana, Pedro and James Rose, Kirralie Cerise, Carmine Vasseur, Dawson and Alastair Cyan, Chas Flaxen and Anson Lovat. And any future characters that aren't a part of the games._

_(Yes, most surnames are variants of colours. And Vasseur's first name. Just like most pokemon cities. I can be creative too :) )_


	20. The past

"_Are you ready?" A boy, around the age of five or six, nodded. Wisps of raven coloured hair fell into his face and his mother sighed. Only a few weeks ago had she taken him to get his hair cut, it grew far too long, far too fast._

_She held out her hand and the little boy grasped it tightly. The bond between mother and child had grown even stronger since the boy's father had left to pursue his dream. A dream that many shared. A dream he hoped, one day, his son would have too. "Come on then." The young woman smiled. Her eyes sparkling a saxe colour. The little boy had inherited these very eyes. However, his bland looks came from his father. Pale cheeks instead of rosy, sullen look instead of a soft, gentle one. It was because of these looks he was perceived unapproachable. The other kids ignored him. He felt his mother was his only company._

_Which was why his mother had decided to buy her son a pet pokemon._

_They arrived at the local pokemon ranch. A rather old, tired looking man ushered them in and led them to the back. Dozens of pokemon roamed free, playing in the sun with one another. The boy's eyes grew wide, watching with an odd look of happiness on his face. The happiest his mother had seen him, since his father left. _

_The man eyed the boy suspiciously. "Isn't he a little young to have a pokemon?" His voice was gruff, stiff. "Thought you had to be approaching teens to start training?" He forced a wheezy laugh, but kept his eyes firmly on the child. He hid behind his mother._

"_It's more of a companion." The mother's voice was bright and breezy, most found it rather alluring. This man was an exception. He tore his eyes away from the boy and scowled. _

_The mother bent down and smiled at her son. She kissed his forehead and urged him to go play with the pokemon, choose which one he wanted. He nodded and ran off to where the pokemon were playing. His mother straightened herself out and turned back to the man. "He needs a friend."_

"_A friend? You are aware he needs more than just a pokemon and his mother for an adequate social life?" The man raised an eyebrow, but said no more once the woman pursed her lips. "He'd be better off with a baby pokemon, an older, dark, or dragon type he might find hard to handle."_

"_My son is exceptionally strong-willed." Was the response._

* * *

_The boy scampered over to the long grass where the ledyba, sentret and butterfree were frolicking, and fluttering. The grass ticked his knees as he ran through it. The pokemon approached him cautiously. _

_This new found attention enthralled him. For once he wasn't tossed aside, disregarded. He petted the wondrous creatures, feeling the softness of their fur and featheriness of their wings. He enjoyed the occasional lick or nudge back. So many to choose from._

_Eventually, he ran back to his mother. "Mummy, I want that one." He pointed his finger in the direction of a small, green reptile. There was a red rhombus on its belly and black markings around its eyes. It was distancing itself away from the other pokemon, preferring to be in the shade than the spotlight. The boy had felt an instant connection the moment he had set eyes on the strange pokemon. They were both outsiders._

"_Wonderful. We'll take the larvitar." She dug in her purse and handed the old man a fistful of money. The boy sauntered over to his new playmate._

"_Mrs. Vasseur…" _

_The man began to warn her, but she turned to face him and cut across his words; "Whatever my son wants, my son will get."_

* * *

_His father wrote. His letters were filled with glorious adventures, wonderful sights, amazing memories with his pokemon. Carmine often pictured himself and his larvitar ending up like his dad. Becoming the best._

_They had spent a year together now. They weren't as close as he or his mother would have liked, but they got along. Some days she would be affectionate, nuzzling her owner and obeying his commands and being obedient. Other days she would ignore his every word, stare darkly at him and attack if she was given regard._

_She was especially temperamental after watching how close carmine and his mother were._

_She was abandoned as soon as she was hatched. Her mother had tossed her aside, once born, and was forced to survive in the harsh terrain of her home till she was found, malnourished. She was passed around, like a parcel, from home to home, till one day, she was left on the doorstep of a pokemon ranch._

_Preferring her own company, the larvitar never mingled with the other pokemon. She sulked in the shadows and sometimes became hostile, attacking the old man who looked after them. _

_She had opened up to the darkness and allowed it to swallow her whole._

_Often, the kindness of her owner brought out a kinder, softer side to her, but more often than not, she wallowed in her misery, letting the darkness of her heart overcome. _

* * *

"_Come on larvitar!" Carmine urged, even pushing larvitar forward. The pidgey stared at them, confused. "Attack it, please. You did so well the other day." Carmine had grown quite considerably, rapidly turning from a little boy to adolescence. He was now rather tall, towering over his mother, his hair a shaggy mane. His face had hardened and become more sullen, features exactly like his father's. Girl had started to take interest in him, but he was still mostly ignored. They found his blue-grey eyes enigmatic, and everyone knows how girls like the mysterious type._

_Coming up to fourteen, he and his larvitar had spent eight eventful years together. She had taken delight in attacking wild pokemon, that ventured into the Vasseur's back garden, early on and was approaching around level fifty, at least. She hadn't chosen to evolve yet, however. _

_His mother had prevented him from leaving to start his journey, on the basis that she thought his pokemon was unstable. Larvitar's moods were even more unpredictable as she levelled, neither mother nor child had the right badges to keep her tame, for they both had none. Carmine's father rarely visited, he was still pursuing his dream. Two years after Carmine had gotten his pokemon, his mother and father decided to divorce. The strain of being apart had become too much. His father popped in to say hello to his son as often as he could, but that became less and less as the years went on._

_As soon as Carmine had become old enough to leave, his mother told him she didn't think he was ready. Carmine disagreed, but his close bond with his mother made him obey. She had promised him she would help get him a new pokemon to assist on his journey, who would protect him, as soon as she could. The eavesdropping larvitar didn't like her plan._

_Larvitar turned to her 'trainer' and shot him a glare. She would battle if she felt like it. Carmine's eager face fell into a saddened one at her look. Why didn't his pokemon like him?_

"_Please?" He tried again, but larvitar ignored him. The pidgey, bored, took off. The air beneath its wings created a weak gust, but it had enough force to launch a nearby stone at the larvitar's back. With a roar, she turned again and disappeared in a flash of blinding light._

_Carmine gasped in shock, as the light faded and a new pokemon, incased in a rock cacoon, lay where larvitar had stood, a few moments ago. "Mum, mum!" Carmine ran into the kitchen, carrying his new pokemon, which was wriggling and squirming in protest. "Look!" She looked down at the blue-grey rock pupa in her sons arms. It was the same colour as their eyes. _

_Pupitar's movement may have been restricted, but her attacks weren't, as Carmine soon found out._

* * *

"_I'm worried…"Carmine's mother twisted the telephone cord between her fingers as she listened to her ex-husband's advice. "… She's become more aggressive now she's evolved. All I know is I have to help him get a new pokemon soon. Perhaps we could release the pupitar afterwards…" Carmine's father made pitiful excuses, reasons as to why he couldn't help. His mother sighed, she had expected this. "Fine. I'll go with him. I think the sooner the better. Tomorrow, I'll take him to Dark Cave. Perhaps he'll catch a nice geodude."_

_The pupitar peered through the crack in the door. So the mother was going to replace her? Once again, she was unwanted._

_They set off bright and early the next morning. Pupitar had been brought along too. Despite her volatile ways, Carmine had grown quite attached to her. _

_They had searched the cave for some time, before spotting a teddiursa. Carmine instantly fell for the small bear. "This one." He said. His mother agreed. All they needed now was for his pupitar to co-operate._

_She did, but she attacked aiming to kill. In her own way, she had grown fond of the boy too, but she was so overcome by darkness and evil she couldn't see it. Carmine and his mother shouted pleas at the vehement pokemon, but the only outcome was worse than the situation. A nearby ursaring had been alerted and was now crashing its way over to scene._

_Roaring loudly, she swiped at the pupitar, who was flung back against the wall. Carmine cried out in fear and fury, making to rush over to his pokemon. He needn't bothered. Brilliant white light filled the cave, as the ursaring scooped up the badly injured baby, and another deafening roar was heard. _

_The ursaring carried her young to safety and came back for vengenge, aiming for the young male and his mother. The woman stood protectively in front of her son, shielding him from harm, looking at the newly evolved tyranitar for help. _

_Filled with jealousy from the past eight years, filled with contempt at her trying to replace her with a new, safe, pokemon, the huge, green reptile folded her arms over the blue rhombus on her chest and stood there, doing nothing._

"_NO!" Was the last human cry before Carmine's mother was flung against the nearest wall and slashed to death by the ferocious bear. _

_Too terrified, too overcome with grief to move, Carmine sunk to his knees, sobbing. Still not satisfied with vengeance, the ursaring turned to the pokemon who had caused all this. She and the tyranitar locked themselves in a horrendous battle, aiming to kill, but it wasn't enough to make Carmine leave the cave. As long as it remained in tact, he would stay._

_He staggered over to his mother's remains and wept._

_The battle lasted hours. The outcome was disastrous for Carmine. He looked up from where he sat, staring blankly at the very pokemon who had caused all of this. From the very start. _

_His mother, who had become his everything when he no-one else, was dead. His pokemon had caused that. And now, she too was dead. The ursaring had won out, but had become badly injured in the process. If she hadn't, maybe Carmine would have died too._

* * *

_Lost, Carmine wandered the cave, looking for an exit. The trek took days. He feasted on the remains of carcass' left behind by wild pokemon. Once or twice, he ended up in a scuffle with a stray dunsparce or teddiursa. He fled before stronger pokemon could be alerted. He had no intention of ending up like his mother or his pokemon. Thinking of that day made him sickened. Thinking of the past eight years made him angry. _

_He emerged, blinded by sunlight, about five days after the incident. Covered in dirt, blood and scars, he collapsed on the floor with a revelation; pokemon were savages, beasts, filled with destruction and corruption. The human race was better off without them._

_And with that, Carmine allowed the darkness, that once filled his pokemon's heart, fill his heart too._

* * *

_Almost became Kingdom Hearts there- larvitar becoming a heartless would have been pretty funny ^^, _

_Anyway, hope it didn't suck too much :S_

_Oh, just to add, there is more. :)_


	21. As fear grows, so does the hatred

_His plan started off tame. He decided to expose pokemon for the savages they were. Like a human hating all dogs, due to an irrational fear, Carmine had learnt to hate pokemon through his own experiences, through fear._

_He studied wild pokemon carefully. Many people who passed him thought he was studying to be a pokemon professor. He jotted down notes in a worn notepad, labelling his findings as; '_Survival of the fittest._' The first savage act he witness, aside from 'the incident', was a few pidgey, picking on a caterpie._

_He hid himself in a nearby bush, taking down his notes; his proof. He wished he had a camera. The pidgey were pecking at the caterpie's body, viciously. Carmine would have felt sorry for the insect, if he didn't loathe its race._

_The pecks became more ferocious, gust attacks were launched from the fellow pidgey to help bring the caterpie down. The poor creature was squealing, perhaps for help. None came. _

_After a few more minutes, the caterpie rolled over onto it's back, knocked out. Carmine witnessed the pidgeys tear at the flesh, not even bothering to kill the bug first. More proof of their ferocity._

_For a few weeks, that was the only proof Carmine could find. Having stolen a camera, he took endless pictures for his notebook. He didn't even stop to think that humans did the exact same. Slaughtered pokemon and animals just for meat to feed themselves, just as the pokemon were doing. All he saw were vicious attacks of cruelty, committed by those he deemed not worthy enough to roam the earth. Perhaps if he had the right guidance, he would have seen the error of his thoughts. But his only guidance had been taken away from him, brutally murdered, by those he now hated._

* * *

_It seemed that most of his 'proof' was based on what he had witnessed and it wasn't thought through properly. _

_He, many years later, tried to sell his photographical evidence to a local newspaper, but they had just laughed in his face. The things he had seen were portrayed, by him, as beasts destroying each other and the world, but others just shrugged it off as what is was. The nature of pokemon. _

_Many tried to explain that he was no better by killing and eating pokemon too. The information just sailed over Carmine's head, anger overtaking him. A few glanced at the pictures he had taken of pokemon fighting, and shot him a worried look. "That's what pokemon are for," A kindly woman tried to explain. "Trainers use them to fight. Become the best." _

"_But why?" He had responded. "Why does anybody want to make them any more ferocious? Why is everybody condoning the violence, the corruption?" No-one had a feasible answer to give him. _

_Enraged by the lack of support, and growing more animosity for the pokemon race as the days went by and his 'proof' mounted up, Carmine decided to take matters in his own hands. No longer would these foul creatures destroy the earth with their elemental attacks, their power to cause natural disasters. No longer would they attack freely, kill one another or any other humans. He, Carmine Vasseur, would do something about it._

_The sad thing was, he actually thought he was doing the world a favour._

* * *

_Short and…. Well, not sweet, but it was the conclusion of his corrupt ways. My original copy was a lot more gory, going into the horror scenes in detail, so I changed it to keep it tame._

_Yes, this part of my plot is still lame, but, please, bear with. I have many more plans that are a lot more thought out, I was just kinda stuck with this idea. So, please keep being loyal, just to see if Kelsie ever reunites with her typhlosion lol._

_Oh, and off course, you have to see if Scott ever frees the pokemon. That's his plan (and why he accepted to work on the 'super pokemon', if it wasn't clear)… for now :)_


	22. James' second gym battle

It didn't take long for Kelsie to get her new pokemon up to speed with mareep. In fact, in the two days she and James spent training, she had managed to train both hoothoot and mareep to nearly the same level as Polly.

James had been training too. Of course, his pokemon would have no problem tackling the gym and its bug pokemon, but any opportunity to train was a good one. He couldn't wander around the rest of the region with low levelled pokemon, after all.

"Feeling confident?" James asked as the two of them sat down to breakfast, on the fourth day.

"Fairly." Hoothoot had recently learnt peck, which would be very useful, but, during bug practise, mareep's thundershock hadn't been much use. Granted, she had successfully zapped several butterfree critically, but they had wings. Kelsie would just have to resort to tackling constantly. As for Polly, fingers crossed her high level would be enough.

They had decided to battle separately. Kelsie had admitted that watching James sail through would make her nervous, so she wished him good luck, gave him a quick hug and set off to do some more training and sight-seeing with her pokemon.

James waved after her and entered the gym. They had both put their names down the day before. They had taken in the full layout of the gym properly that day too. Trainers appeared from the door at the back, battling the challengers individually. They had been told that Bugsy, the gym leader, preferred battling outside, so once all the trainers were defeated, the challenger was led through the door to the outside arena.

"Name?" James jumped, once again the decor of the gym had taken his breath away. It was like a mini forest, rubber trees and polystyrene plants were everywhere, placed on a mint green carpet, which was acting as grass.

"James Rose." He blushed. Yesterday, when he had signed his name on the list, a group of girls, who were standing behind him and Kelsie, had giggled at the sight of his name. The had dubbed 'Rose' as rather appropriate, pointing at the flowers in the nearest corner. They were pink roses, a cardboard cut-out butterfree resting on top.

"Your first battle is about to begin." The woman smiled and gestured to the arena. James followed his spearow down the steps, Rex padded along behind him.

"We're first!" A pair of girls, with identical appearances, skipped out of the door. "We battle together, so it's a two on two battle, ok?" James had no qualms on that, both his pokemon were super effective.

* * *

Kelsie sighed and slumped down of the nearby tree. She was back in Ilex forest, training. Her pokemon were getting good, but she was bored without James' quips. Something she thought she would never hear herself think.

"Hoo." Hoothoot hopped up onto Kelsie's shoulder. He spent most of the daytime sleeping on her shoulder, only really coming to life during battle. He was a nocturnal creature after all. He acted as Kelsie's personal alarm clock too, much to her dismay. The first morning after he had been caught, he had crowed at the break of dawn.

"Hoothoot," Kelsie had yawned, stuffing her head under her pillow. "I like to get, _at least_, eight hours sleep!" Hoothoot had taken her words to heart, for the next morning, he awakened her eight hours exactly from the time she had gone to bed. Unfortunately, that happened to be six o'clock in the morning.

He hadn't just woken Kelsie. He was so loud that he had woken several other trainers. Because of this, and the glares and nasty mutterings she had endured as an aftermath, hoothoot had been confined to his pokeball during bedtime. Something that earned Kelsie to have a strike to her head, the next morning, once he was released. Thus, learning peck.

Other than those incidents, Kelsie and hoothoot got along famously. He would occasionally nip her finger or ear affectionately. And he was very fond of nibbling her hair.

Hoothoot got along with Kelsie's other two pokemon too, to her delight. If Kelsie's shoulders didn't satisfy him, Polly's head made a comfy resting post. Or mareep's back. Neither minded too much, though mareep had taken to trying to shock him if she wasn't in the mood.

"What's up?" Kelsie tried to turn her head to face her pokemon, but all she got was a crick in the neck. Hoothoot cooed again. "You can keep battling, if that's what you're getting at, but we're not facing the gym till James gets back." Hoothoot nudged her head with his own. "I couldn't bear to watch him win and have him watch me loose." She added, glumly.

* * *

James grinned as the last trainer's pokemon fell to the ground, blackened. Rex and spearow had done spectacularly. The trainer looked at him, sorry, **glared** at him and stomped back to the door. James followed, excited about his upcoming battle.

"What do you think you're doing?" The bug-loving boy snapped.

"Going to battle the gym leader." James answered. "Why? There aren't more trainers, are there?" The boy shook his head, looking quite embarrassed that he had forgotten to lead James to the gym leader. In his anger, his mind had gone completely blank.

"He's just there." He muttered, and then rushed off.

Bugsy, at James' first glance, looked like a girl. His big, lavender eyes certainly looked like girl eyes. And his choice of hair colour. Lavender too. Not deep purple, which, incidentally, would have done him much more justice. He was wearing a boy scouts outfit, that was what made James click that Bugsy was male. Unlike Falkner, Bugsy looked like he belonged as an ordinary trainer, not a gym leader. He looked far too young.

"Hi." He smiled, noticing James, and gave a little wave.

"Erm…"

"I assume you're here to battle?" His voice sounded young too. James nodded. "I like to get to the point so…" He threw out his first pokemon and said no more. A green chrysalis, with droopy eyes, appeared before James' chosen pokemon- Rex. "Metapod, use string shot!" A thin line of silk shot from the pokemon's mouth, striking its target and sticking to Rex's leg.

"Ember Rex, and move before that thing covers you even more!" Rex jumped to the side spitting the embers from his mouth. The Metapod, like all the other bug pokemon before it, recoiled at the fire attack, scared of the flames. They burnt its body and it fell to the floor, defeated. "Piece of cake!" The same happened with Bugsy's next pokemon- a cocoon type pokemon called kakuna. For his last pokemon, James switched to spearow. He hovered in the air, waiting.

Bugsy smirked, tossing his final pokeball into the air. From the dazzling light, a praying mantis emerged. It was green and roughly the same size as its trainer. Its forearms were blades, scythes, pretty menacing looking. "Sciiii!" It screeched, making James look worried.

"Quick attack!" The scyther sped across the arena, becoming a blur and leapt up at spearow, knocking it flying, before James had even had time to react. He blinked, baffled, and called out to his spearow to see if he was ok. He was.

"Fury attack!" Spearow whizzed through the air, speeding towards his opponent. The scyther was certainly energetic, stepping side to side whilst waiting for commands. Spearow homed in and went to attack continuously with his beak, but the scyther disappeared. It reappeared, however, behind spearow and hit him with another quick attack. Spearow turned and tried again, but was slashed with one of the scyther's blades. Bugsy chuckled at James cry of frustration.

Eventually, spearow was tossed to the floor. He was down.

Rex was pretty energetic too, mainly because he was still quite young. James ordered him to use smog and the arena was filled with the same thick, black smoke Union cave filled with when James had challenged the trainer with the two koffings.

Blinded, the scyther stumbled around. James told Rex to be still and send an ember attack straight ahead. "Dodge it!" Bugsy's cries were wasted, however, as the poor scyther didn't know which way was a dodge. It ended up walking, literally, straight into the line of fire.

Kelsie was waiting outside when James exited the building. He showed her his new badge, the Hive Badge, and exclaimed; "I want a scyther!" as a greeting. She chuckled, no clue as to what he was on about. "You'll see soon enough." He wished her luck like she had him and wandered off to get some lunch as Kelsie entered the gym.


	23. Holy Fiiii: An evolution

_Thanks (again) to Frizz.22 and Syzdoth for their reviews, and to WildCroconaw for the review as well. And thank you to Deston for the story alert. Hope you are all enjoying so far. _

Kelsie was doing fine until the third trainer's beedrill poisoned her hoothoot. He staggered around, feeling ill, and Kelsie was forced to return him so she could heal him with an antidote.

Mareep padded into the arena. Already her wool was building static. Beedrill, the name said it all really- a giant bee (well, more like wasp) with huge drills for hands-flitted about in the air swiftly. Although it was able to fly, electric attacks weren't super effective like Kelsie thought they would be, which made things a lot harder. At least it wasn't resistant to them.

At long last, Kelsie made it to the outside arena. Her hoothoot had recovered nicely from the poison and was eager to go on. Mareep was beginning to show signs of wear. She was padding slowly beside her trainer. Polly was fine, Kelsie hadn't used her yet.

Bugsy had just finished making sure his pokemon were ok from the last battle. James' battle. He smiled his child-like smile at his new opponent and issued the usual chit-chat gym leaders issued. His first pokemon was released soon after. Kakuna was chosen first this time. Hoothoot cocked his head to the side, smiling. He was a cheery little fellow.

"Kakuna, poison sting!" Hoothoot took off in a flurry of feathers, he had learnt last time that that move was deadly. Almost literally. Kelsie had another antidote on hand, having stocked up beforehand, but she had rather not use it. She had learnt from bug-practise that kakuna and metapod's harden made their shells a lot tougher. And sacrificing returning hoothoot to heal him would make things a lot more difficult for mareep and her tackle.

"Peck!" Hoothoot sped through the air, aiming for the cocoon's head. Kakuna dodged and hoothoot hit the ground, beak first. Bugsy grasped the opportunity and kakuna shot another poisonous stinger from its rear end. It narrowly missed, as hoothoot got up, just in time.

"Use string shot!"

"Avoid it hoothoot!"

The silky string that spun out of kakuna's mouth just latched onto hoothoot's claw as he tried to manoeuvre out of the way. It wrapped around his talons and crept up his leg, pulling him down to the ground. Hoothoot became distracted. He slammed into the ground, as he tried to peck the silk off of him, forgetting to keep himself aloft. Kelsie called out, wincing. He was ok.

"Reel him in!" Bugsy cheered. "Then use poison sting again!" Kakuna obliged as hoothoot still pecked his way free. Thankfully, he did so, just before he reached kakuna. He took off once again, but the sting caught him straight in the wing. The familiar poisonous feeling flooded the owl's body, but before he let it over-take him completely, he rammed his beak into the cocoon's side. Both pokemon staggered and kakuna fell, defeated.

Metapod was bought out next. Kelsie called hoothoot back to heal him, but he looked to feeble to fight any further, he was exhausted. After using a potion, he brightened up a little and Kelsie decided to see how he'd fare in the final battle.

For now, mareep would have to suffice.

Kelsie had used a potion on her too, so she had perked up a little. She growled at her opponent, metapod backed off a little. Bugsy started off with a string shot which mareep dodged effectively. Kelsie had ordered her to use thunder wave. Mareep's static cackled and she glowed a little, forcing her electrical energy forward in a paralyzing ball. It hit. The metapod's movement was restricted. It wobbled from side to side, trying to move forward. The only move it could use was string shot.

After a few tackles, the metapod was knocked out. Panting, mareep plodded back to her trainer. Kelsie was nervous. Two of her pokemon were close to collapsing from exhaustion. Polly was only to be used if absolutely necessary, it looked like that time was rapidly approaching.

As soon as it was released, Kelsie realized what James was going on about. Although quite intimidating, the scyther was kinda cool. And evidently energetic, the fact that it couldn't keep still underlined that fact.

"Sciiii-ther!" It exclaimed, flitting around the arena. Hoothoot was already getting dizzy, this pokemon was faster than beedrill. Bugsy had tactics too, having learnt his lesson from last time. He instructed scyther to use quick attack to get closer then strike with fury cutter. Hoothoot tried to dodge, but was far too tired. He managed to sail over scyther's head whilst it was using quick attack, but the fury cutter struck hoothoot in the back. He slammed, once again, into the ground and didn't get back up.

Kelsie still saw a glimmer of hope. Her pokedex had alerted her to scyther's part flying type. It was weak to electric attacks. Mareep staggered back into the arena and immediately Kelsie saw that it was no good. The speed of the scyther would be too much for her poor, drained pokemon.

She was right. One quick attack and mareep collapsed. It looked like Polly's turn was up. "Do you have anymore pokemon?" Bugsy was smug. "Or do you…" He never finished his sentence. A blinding light stopped him.

"Flaaaaaf-fiiiiiiii!" Kelsie turned at the cry and gasped. Her pokemon, her timid little mareep was no longer. Instead, a bigger, upright, pink sheep was in her place. The wool that once covered her body now only covered the top of her head and her neck. The black stripes were still in place, but the once orange sphere was now blue.

'_Flaaffy, the wool pokemon. Flaaffy builds up electricity in its thick coat of fur, but is unaffected by it thanks to its rubber-like skin…_'

She walked forwards, on her hind legs, back into the arena. All fatigue gone. The scyther, however, still towered over her, but the newly evolved flaaffy wasn't deterred. She hopped from foot to foot, also energetic. The lack of wool didn't stop the storage of static either, if anything it held more. It cackled violently, menacingly, sometimes sparking, as she continuously built it up.

"Scyther, quick attack!" Bugsy had started the battle again. Scyther became a blur, speeding towards flaaffy. She released some electrical energy into the air and, by stroke of luck, hit scyther with a powerful thunder wave. He was close enough, however, to counter with a fury cutter, which knocked flaaffy back.

Once back on her feet, flaaffy struck the praying mantis with a particularly powerful thundershock, striking the pokemon down. Kelsie had won.

"That was amazing! An evolution, right in the middle of the battle!" Bugsy beamed, walking over to Kelsie, who was hugging her new flaaffy happily. "Here, you deserve this." He pressed the Hive Badge into her palm. It looked like a small ladybird. "That's the Hive Badge, an official Pokemon League Badge. Pokemon up to level thirty will now obey you and you can now use cut outside of battle."

"Thank you." Kelsie was still stunned she had won.

* * *

"So…?" James was waiting outside, slumped against the wall of the gym. He had obviously been there some time; Rex was half asleep.

Kelsie faked a sad face. "There's always tomorrow." She said, sadly. James' face fell. He started to comfort her when his eyes caught sight of a badge glinting in the sunlight; the Hive Badge.

"You…!" He punched her, what he thought was lightly, on the shoulder. She rubbed it. "Awesome! Your new hoothoot worked his magic then?"

"Actually, mareep was the star." James looked confused. Kelsie grinned, taking a pokeball from her belt. The usual beam of light flew out of it and flaaffy materialised. James staggered back in shock, tripping over Rex in the process.

"Holy…!"

"Fiii!"


	24. Lovebirds

"I think I preferred you as a cowardly mareep." James muttered, jokingly, staring at the flaaffy. She didn't respond, she was too busy hopping along with Polly. She had gained a lot more confidence since she had evolved. Her energy could rival Polly's and she often spent the time out of her pokeball trying to wind James up. However, she was still as kind and caring as ever, trying her best to force her electrical energy away from her trainer and fellow pokemon.

"I'm so glad your mum gave me a mareep." Kelsie beamed, immensely proud. James glanced down at his houndour, glad he was given him too. Somehow he suspected that he had been given the puppy to match his energy. Rex certainly was a handful. He was obedient, he had to be due to the Pokemon League Badge Law, but he still was quite a handful. Liana had given her son the houndour to keep him out of trouble. She never even thought that Rex would get her son into trouble, however.

Like he was now.

They were trying their best to navigate through the thick grass and tightly knotted trees that was Ilex forest. Rex had taken to leading the way, burning the grass and bug pokemon in their path. Much to the bug-catcher's and Kelsie's annoyance.

"James! I'm still looking for a caterpie!"

"Why do you want a bug anyway?"

"'Cos it's…" Kelsie trailed off, unsure. "I just do!"

"Bugs are icky."

"Icky? You're basing your argument on icky? You girl." The had stopped walking to continue their conversation. Kelsie laughed, causing her shoulders to shake and her hoothoot to stir. He gave her a nip and stuck his head back under his wing.

James glowered at her, going red. "Ok. They're disgusting, weak, pathetic, ugly…"

"AHEM." Both trainers turned. A boy, slightly younger than them, was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at James. His net had fallen to the floor, a weedle squirming its way out of it. "What were you saying about bug pokemon?"

"I… Erm…"

"They're not weak!" The boy looked extremely angry.

"O-of course not! I-I just…I mean, scyther aren't weak, neither are beedrill, now that I think about it…"

"Or butterfree." Kelsie pointed out, struggling to hide her laughter at James being put in his place.

"Whose side are you on?" James hissed.

"Right now? Theirs."

The bug catcher turned his attention to James' pokemon. Both were staring at him with slight animosity. He was planning on challenging James, to show him how tough bug pokemon were, but he now decided against that. With Rex, his pokemon would be toast.

"C'mon, lets go." James grabbed Kelsie's arm and pulled her away, calling for the pokemon to follow. "Why didn't you back me up?"

"You were being a jerk!"

* * *

Sometime later, the sun began to set. It dawned on the two of them that, for the first time in their journey, they would have to camp out. In the middle of a forest. Which Kelsie was sure they were lost in.

They pitched their tents and set up their sleeping bags. James attempted to start a fire whilst Kelsie watched her pokemon roaming free. Hoothoot was far more at home in the trees and at night. He had taken to resting on a branch, settling close to wild hoothoot, hooting with them. Kelsie was sure he was trying to wind them up. As long as he was enjoying himself and didn't get into trouble, she didn't mind.

"Why don't you just use Rex to set the stick alight?" She had turned her attention to James. He was trying his best to start the fire by rubbing two sticks together.

"That would be cheating."

"You have a fire pokemon, I think you're allowed to cheat."

"Different story when I wanted to catch a water pokemon…"

Soon, the fire was lit. James hadn't given up, but Rex was getting hungry and had assisted. James rolled his eyes, today, _everyone_ was against him. He soon cheered up, once he tucked into dinner- beans and toasted bread. Neither had counted on having to camp out. They had foolishly thought they would make it out the other end in a day. They hadn't even made it halfway. They had wasted over an hour trekking round in a circle, continuously taking the wrong path. But no matter, the beans and bread were enough to satisfy.

Full, James lay on his back, staring at the canopy of trees, watching the shadows that sometimes flew by. "Do you think there's ghost in this forest?"

"No." Kelsie sounded uncertain. She glanced around, James knew that she was checking. She was clutching her egg, protectively now. Flaaffy and Polly were asleep, nestled up in Kelsie's tent. There wasn't much room left for her.

"Scare easily?"

Kelsie said nothing, but narrowed her eyes at him. In the moonlight, he barely saw. He snickered. "At least I'm not stuck in a forest full of pokemon I'm scared of."

"Wha..?"

"Isn't that why you don't want me to catch a caterpie?" This time, James said nothing. He turned away, the smug look on Kelsie's face was unbearable.

Hoothoot was still flitting from branch to branch. It was like he was sizing up the other hoothoot. Or like he was looking for something. He had strayed from the camp, not too far, but far enough that he was out of sight.

Eventually, Kelsie came looking for him.

"James…" She called, making James come running. Hoothoot was perched on the utmost branch of a tree, snuggled against another. A female. They looked pretty cosy together. It didn't look like they had just met, either. "I think my hoothoot has a mate."

* * *

_I need a plan…_

Scott Fletcher paced his office, which doubled as his accommodation for the duration of his stay, racking his brains. He needed a plan that would allow him to release the captured pokemon from the building, without being seen. And that made it look like he was operating on them.

_Body bags._

It was a long shot, risking both his and the pokemon's lives.

* * *

"Mr. Vasseur wants to see you." It was early morning. Scott had been awoken to Alastair entering his office. It was a pity they didn't have locks, it was probably their way of keeping tabs on everyone enlisted, without being too intrusive and using cameras.

Scott had been expecting this. Since their last talk, Vasseur had allowed him to think over what he wanted to do. Or, as he had put it: 'choose between life and death'. He had stewed it over and decided to 'help' Vasseur's plan. Not experiments, but this so-called 'super pokemon' plan. All he had to do now was wait and see if Vasseur was satisfied.

"Doctor Fletcher." Alastair led Scott into Vasseur's office and then walked back out. Scott barely had had time to wash and dress. He had thrown on yesterdays old clothes, but one glance at Vasseur and he wished he had made himself more presentable.

Vasseur waited. Scott sat and forced a lump in his throat down. "I-I have reached a decision." The grey eyes stared, still waiting. The emptiness of them unnerved the doctor. "I would like to help you." Scott's voice was shaky, unconvincing. "I don't agree with what you desire, however, I do value my life."

"More than any pokemon, it seems." There was a slight sneering tone. "You'll fit right in. _We _are the superior race, the sooner everyone sees that the better. _They're_ nothing more than lowly monsters."

Some of the colour drained from Scott's cheeks. "I would, if you permit it, like to help create the super pokemon you speak of."

"And not help medical research?" He chuckled. "I must say, I'm quite surprised. I thought that you of all people would have chosen that path."

"I have chosen the most humane choice."

"Hmmm…" Vasseur sounded unconvinced. He sat in silence for some time, surveying the man sat before him. "Fine. For now, you work alone. No-one else has chosen that choice so far." Clearly every other doctor and scientist chosen were just as disturbed as Vasseur and his minions. "I will send a list of requirements down later." He waved his hand in dismissal and Scott hurried out of the large room, into the elevator.

* * *

_Right, quick question. Does Kelsie leave her hoothoot with his mate in Ilex and get a caterpie (I have a strange obsession with butterfree, incase you're wondering why she wants one.)? Or, do I make her leave the hoothoot and get another pokemon later on? Or do I allow her to keep the hoothoot and separate him from his mate? I'm too torn between the first two to choose. But, however, if my faithful readers want her to keep him then I will aim to please :)_

_Please let me know._


	25. Sarcastic, idiotic, ridiculous James

_Thank you to Adurna Rider of Kveykva for reviewing, adding this story as a favourite, adding an alert for my story and I and for adding me as a favourite author. It means a lot :) Thank you to Mileyangel1321 for adding an alert, adding to favourites and reviewing. I'm glad you like my story :) And thank you to everyone else too, as I always tell you- you rock :)_

* * *

"What do I do?" Kelsie whispered to James, staring up at her hoothoot. She was chewing her lip, torn between letting him be with his love or being selfish. It appeared hoothoot was thinking the same, glancing between his trainer and his mate. She did nothing, except stare, blankly, at the trainer. There was something accusatory in her stare.

"Let him go?"

"Is that what you want?" Hoothoot flew down to rest on her shoulder. He nipped her ear affectionately, hooting softly. "You were great." She reached up and stroked his feathers. "I'm going to miss you, but who am I to stand in the way of love?" His big. amber eyes stared at her, sadly. Evidently, he would miss her too.

"Hoo…" The female hoothoot had joined them, landing in the grass. Kelsie's hoothoot nodded at her and she flew off again, landing further up the tree where a nest was perched.

"He's a daddy." James gasped.

"All the more reason for you to stay." Kelsie said. Hoothoot gave her another nip and then took off, to join his family. She watched him, tears forming in her eyes.

They trudged back to the makeshift campsite, a few minutes later. Kelsie was still a little sad, but, she reminded herself, she had only spent a few days with him. It would have been a lot worse if she had spent years with him.

Like her typhlosion.

She wished, now more than ever, that her best friend was here.

* * *

"You not going to bed?" It was sometime in the early hours of the morning, around one or two a.m. Kelsie was sat by the dying embers of the fire, clutching hoothoot's pokeball. Her eyes were red, slightly puffy. She had been crying.

"I've been kicked out." She croaked, her throat dry. There was a hint of a chuckle in her throat. James glanced at Kelsie's tent, the flap was open and flaaffy and Polly were visible, taking up the majority of the cramped space, including Kelsie's pillows and sleeping bag.

"Just return them."

She shook her head. "I'm not tired." James sat beside her. "I'm fine, go back to bed."

"Rex kicks too much." He replied, cheerily. "You miss him, don't you?" She nodded, knowing that he was talking about typhlosion. She fixed her sight on a small stone that rested on the ground. She didn't want James to see her crying.

James got comfy on the grass, resting his arms under his head. Soon, soft snoring filled Kelsie's ears. He had fallen asleep. She giggled, watching him, and got comfy on the ground too. She wiped her eyes and prayed that her typhlosion was safe, something she did every night.

* * *

At some point she must have fallen asleep, because the dazzling sunlight streamed in through her eyelids, waking her. She lifted her head up off her pillow, shaking a cover off her. It took her a moment to realize that she had gone to bed on the grass, with no pillow or sleeping bag, not even a blanket.

"Then…?" Puzzled, she sat up. Her gasp made James wake and roll over, facing her. He used his outstretched arm to lift himself up and then he rubbed his eyes.

"Morning." He yawned. Kelsie was still looking at him in shock, rather red. "What? Did I drool?" He wiped his mouth, feeling for traces of saliva.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." James looked confused, but Kelsie hurried into her tent to change, returning her pokemon to make some room. She splashed her face with drinking water and shook her head of the thoughts that James' chest was quite comfy…

Soon, they were on their way again. Kelsie, still rather embarrassed, hadn't responded much to James' attempts of conversation. He decided, after much pondering, to change tactics to get her to talk. "How are you going to catch a caterpie then?"

"Huh?"

"Your plans? I still have some cake."

"Oh…" Kelsie smiled in thanks and reverted to her original 'catch a pidgey plan'.

After a few hours in the sun, however, James gave up waiting. He was wet and sticky, thanks to Polly. Well, actually, it was his own fault. He had asked the poliwag to cool him down, eagerly, she obliged, absolutely drenching him with her water gun. The sun had soon dried up his clothes, causing them to stick to him. The whole scene had caused Kelsie to blush even more.

"I'm going to try something else," He told her. "You stay here." He wandered over to the closest clump of trees, calling for Rex to follow. The grass was damp where he had been sitting.

"Don't do something stupid." The atmosphere between them was beginning to go back to normal. For Kelsie, anyway. As far as James was concerned, it hadn't even changed.

James snorted as a response. "As if."

"What are you doing then?"

"I'm going to get Rex to headbutt the tree. Just watch the cake!" Rex shot his trainer a look that quite plainly said; '_you didn't tell me this_' and backed away a little. Kelsie swatted away a few weedle that were approaching. Flaaffy helped with scaring them off.

Rex simply refused to move, so James shook the tree. Tried to, anyway. It was far too sturdy. He kicked it and stubbed his toe. He hit it and ended up hurting his hand. Kelsie shook her head, mortified. How could she have ever thought things would get romantically complicated between them, this was James, for crying out loud. Sarcastic, idiotic, ridiculous James.

In the end, flaaffy headbutted the tree, to save James any more injuries. The end result was a complete disaster anyway, as they were now faced with, not a caterpie, but a very angry pineco.

"Idiot." Kelsie muttered, as the blue pinecone shook, violently. Flaaffy and Rex ran back to where Kelsie and Polly were sat. They were smart. James, however, tip-toed forward. Just as the pineco exploded. James was forced back, slamming into another tree, forcing several caterpie to fall out. "Yay! Go James."

"Huh?" James rubbed his head and passed out.

* * *

"You know who your friends are when they give up their chance to catch a caterpie to drag you as far as they can through a forest you're lost in." Kelsie sighed, setting James down in the shade. Her arms were beginning to ache from hauling James' weight, slouched over. Poor Polly and flaaffy had been lumbered with the backpacks whilst Rex tried his best to help Kelsie pull James along. All he ended up doing, though, was getting in Kelsie's way, so he led the way with spearow instead.

James opened his eyes. His surroundings were familiar, but then he assumed that every part of the forest was thick, long grass and towering clumps of trees. "Where are we?" He felt groggy, he tried to get up, but Kelsie pushed him back down.

"I hope we're near the exit. Just rest and try not to sink into a coma or die. Or get into any more trouble." She grinned. He tried to grin back, glad she was acting normally again.

"Oh!" Again he tried to sit and was pushed back down. "Lets see your caterpie!" Kelsie kicked his leg. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I was too busy helping you to get one!"

"Oh… sorry." Kelsie waved his apology away, she was just glad James was ok. "Is this are new campsite then?"

"Looks like it. I don't think you're up to travelling any further." She relieved her pokemon of the bags and began unpacking the tents.

"Not sleeping on my chest again tonight?" James chuckled. Kelsie stared at him, colour seeping into her cheeks for the millionth time that day. She had no idea that James had known.

* * *

The evening was uncomfortable. Kelsie had gone back to being shy and embarrassed, not saying much. James didn't particularly know what to say to ease the tension. He felt too woozy still. Kelsie ended up hiding in her tent straight after dinner.

_Girls…_ James thought _…Are so weird._

* * *

Scott stared at the list he was given, the requirements for Vasseur's so-called 'super pokemon'. There was also a note at the bottom, informing him of the scientist who would be helping him. Another new addition. Lysander Roan.

_Great. _He thought, setting the piece of paper down on his desk. _Another obstacle in my plan._

* * *

_Yep, another update. I'm kinda busy next week so I thought I'd update on both days of the weekend to make up for it. I should update again soon, though. I'll try to write a bit each night. _

_Kelsie has feelings for James :P But nothing's going to happen… yet._


	26. Flower Power

_Another little thank you… Big thank you to ShadowJolteon for reviewing, adding story alert and adding the story to favourites. It means a lot :)_

_And as always, thank you everyone else :)_

"…Dish!" A small, blue plant hopped through the grass, searching for food. It had buried itself, previously, in some soil to soak up the soil's nutrients and absorb all the sunlight and moonlight it could. Now it wanted solids.

Somewhere in the heart of the forest the grass seemed to shrink. It was bent over, like something heavy had been dragged through it, breaking the blades. "Od-dish?" Following the trail, the tiny plant finally came to a make-shift campsite. A pile of burnt twigs were in a heap, placed in front of two tents. Lying to the side of the pile was a teenage boy, fast asleep. His clothes were dirty, grass stains visible and scorch marks tainting his shirt.

The hungry plant hurried over to the two tents, full of curiosity. The leaves on top of its bulb-like body rustled, as they brushed against one of the tent's open flap. A houndour and spearow were inside, but asleep. The plant sighed with relief and waddled inside. It smelt food.

At the back of the tent, thrown roughly aside, was a backpack. It was open. The plant stuck its head inside and found some berries, in a brown paper bag, right at the bottom. The little plant was small enough to fit inside. It munched on the berries happily, then curled up in the backpack and fell asleep, full.

* * *

Kelsie's mood returned to normal again, once she had awoken. Her embarrassment had gone completely after she had managed to convince herself that James was far too immature for her liking. He was like an annoying older brother. There was no way _anything_ was _ever _going to happen.

James said no more about it. He seemed to have learnt his lesson. Or maybe he was just embarrassed by it all too. Either way, Kelsie was relieved that he let it be.

Their main goal for today was to get out of the forest. Their food supplies were running low and, despite the shelter of the trees, the humidity was unbearable. James had taken to walking around with his shirt off. He hadn't particularly wanted to, due to the uncomfortable atmosphere between him and Kelsie, but, eventually, he couldn't cope with the heat anymore.

Kelsie had spent the first half an hour embarrassed, again. She couldn't help it, he had a nice body.

However, being lost does seem to occupy most of one's thoughts.

"This is your fault." Kelsie hissed, flopping down onto the grass. Being female, she couldn't feel the benefits of having the cool air breeze against her bare skin. Her hair was sticking to her face and her clothes were clinging to her body. Once or twice she thought about asking Polly to cool her down, but then remembered that she'd have to trek with wet clothes.

"I'd like to know how you came up with that." James grinned. He couldn't help it, he preferred 'normal Kelsie' to 'embarrassed Kelsie'. The tension between them eased and felt friendlier when they were winding each other up.

"If you hadn't gone off on one of your idiotic ideas…"

"I was trying to get you a stupid caterpie!"

"… Shaking trees and making pinecones…"

"Pinecos."

"… Blow up an knocking yourself out…"

"Hey! I caused loads of caterpies to fall out of that tree! It's not my fault you didn't catch one."

"… Forcing me to pull you out of the forest and…"

"You couldn't even do that right." Kelsie stopped talking and stared at him, her mouth still open to finish her sentence. She didn't. James' words had hit a nerve.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard." James folded his arms. His eyes challenged her to go on. "I was doing you a favour and it worked…"

"With dire consequences!"

"It still worked!" James wasn't grinning anymore. "I made caterpie appear. **You** chose to help me. **You** dragged me across the forest, looking for the exit. **You** chose the direction, it's **your** fault!"

"Actually, I followed your pokemon."

"Don't try to blame them!"

"I'm not, I'm just…" She sighed, defeated. "You're right. It's all my fault." She pulled herself back up and started walking again. James stared after her, his anger evaporating. Polly and flaaffy glanced at each other and rushed after their trainer.

"Girls…"

"I am not a girl!" Kelsie's voice was distant. Rex stared up at his trainer, head cocked to the side. Even spearow seemed interested.

"Never, _ever_ find a mate. It's not worth the hassle." He told them. "Us men have to stick together."

* * *

Lysander was a quiet man. He, too, was young, perhaps a few years younger than Scott. When asked, he admitted he was only twenty. He had worked with his father conducting scientific experiments for many years, before and after gaining a degree in biology. He had dreams of becoming a pokemon professor, but his father had decided against it.

Now, like many others, he had been roped in on Vasseur's scheme.

He had been assigned to the 'super pokemon' project due to the lack of volunteers. As he was no doctor, he didn't like the idea of using pokemon for medical purposes. As biology was more his forte, customising a pokemon seemed more appropriate.

"You don't actually agree with this do you?" Scott had asked him, the second they had been left alone to get acquainted. Lysander shook his head, his heliotrope eyes filled with fear. Scott just assumed that he was too scared of the consequences to speak up against it.

His first impression had been that Lysander was a timid little boy. Short, mousey and pale. He rarely spoke, his eyes darted around the room and he jumped at the slightest noise. But Vasseur seemed like he could put the frighteners on anyone. He had certainly done a good job on Lysander.

Scott was unsure whether to trust him. He was hoping to try to put his plan into action as soon as possible, but with Lysander's beady eyes upon him, he would have to wait.

* * *

"Kelsie!" James called, fighting his way through the trees. For a girl, she sure could run fast. Spearow was flying ahead, keeping a look out. Rex was sniffing the ground, probably trying sniff out her scent.

James wasn't even sure he was going the right way. He had left it too long to follow her, she had disappeared by the time he had motioned for his pokemon to follow him through the thicket. For all he knew, Kelsie could be out of the forest, on the path to Goldenrod.

Spearow settled himself on a branch, waiting for his trainer to hurry up. A caterpie wormed its way across the branch, escaping the bird's sight. It didn't want to end up as prey. Luckily for the caterpillar, spearow wasn't hungry.

"Just my luck," James muttered, aloud, once he had caught up. "Kelsie vanishes and a caterpie appears." He sighed and trekked on.

* * *

Kelsie sunk down onto the ground, hugging her knees. She had found a small clearing with berry bushes and a patch of soil, containing weeds and flowers. There was a large hole in the soil, next to one of the weeds, at the far right end. It looked like someone had pulled something out of the dirt it was buried in.

Her main reason for coming to a standstill wasn't because of James, but because the feeling of being lost was stronger than ever. Her pokegear didn't exactly give her step-by-step instructions on how to navigate through the forest. And James had the map. Not that it was much help anyway. Ilex forest was one big rectangle. The mart in Azalea had been selling specified Ilex forest maps, but neither trainer had realized that the forest was this large or confusing.

"Fii?" Flaaffy sniffed the flowers. She could smell nectar, it was sweet and made her stomach rumble. Kelsie had sacrificed the rest of the food she had to feed her pokemon, but as well as a bigger body, flaaffy had gained a bigger appetite. Granted there were berry bushes here, it was a pretty good place to stop, but the smell of nectar was so much more alluring.

"Poli?" Polly could smell it too. It wasn't the flowers, it seemed come from the trees that were surrounding the clearing.

"Don't stray too far." Kelsie warned, her pokemon nodded. "I don't want to loose you too."

Amid the thicket were a small group of stubby plant pokemon. Their bodies were purplish, or maybe blue, Their arms and legs were short and thin, easily able to blend in with their bodies. Atop of the bulbous body was a medium sized brown flower, speckled with white spots. Orange leaves sprouted underneath. They looked dead.

The pokemon sniffed again. The sweet scent was definitely coming from them. Drool dripped from each of the four plant's mouths.

"Gloom." They talked in slow, deep voices. One of them spotted the poliwag and flaaffy and its expression changed. It looked angry. "Gloom!" It sounded angry too. The nectarous smell changed, it was no longer sweet and delicious, it was now a foul smelling fume.

The two pokemon ran back to their trainer, the plants waddling, furiously, after them. "Ew, what is that smell?" Kelsie wrinkled up her nose, looking past her pokemon. She spotted the gloom. "Great. Just what I needed. I loose a hoothoot and grass pokemon decide to attack."

The gloom stopped, catching sight of Kelsie, and formed a line, blocking the way ahead. One of them mumbled something and the so-called weeds popped out of the soil. They, too, formed a line.

"Fine, flaaffy, tackle!" The gloom all nodded in unison and tipped their flowery hats forward. Golden, glittery dust swept into the air by a sudden breeze and floated towards the trainer and her two pokemon. The smaller plants, that had been posing as weeds, twirled around, like they were dancing, and shook their leaves. The same golden dust flew from them, heading, also, towards Kelsie, flaaffy and Polly.

She screamed for help, praying James was near. Or anyone else. Someone who could help them. Then she fell to the ground, along with her two pokemon, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

James was grumbling as he stomped through the grass. He was positive he was lost, going in a circle, but he had to press on. Spearow continued to sail the skies, his beady eyes scanning the view.

Suddenly, James stopped dead. He could hear something, faintly. It was yelling… screaming, maybe. Shrill… feminine… Kelsie.

He took off, running in the direction of the noise. It had stopped.

She was in trouble.

* * *

_I know I said a long wait, I surprised myself, lol. I type quick, I guess. Anyway, I'm busy during the day this week, my night-time is still pretty much free. So I'll be writing then. If I update quicker, it's probably due to the fact that my mind seems to come up with more ideas when I'm busy._

_I'm pretty much rambling. I apologise :)_


	27. Never get lost in the forest

It didn't take him long to reach them. The oddish were still dancing, though less elaborately. The gloom certainly looked angry, had Kelsie done something to provoke them?

At first, James thought she was dead. He gaped, in shock, at her limp body, wishing he hadn't argued with her a few hours ago. It wasn't until the golden dust, from the gloom's flowers, was drifting towards him, that he realized. Sleep powder.

"Quick, spearow, force the dust away!" Spearow beat his wings, gathering the air beneath them to waft the dust back in the direction whence it came. It hit two of the stubby plants, causing them to drop to the grassy floor, sleepily. Once down, they fell into a deep sleep.

Rex was busy with the oddish, snarling at them, scaring the smaller plants. A horrendous smell filled the air; it smelt like rotting meat, perhaps rotting flesh. It was so disgusting, it caused James to cover his nose with his sleeve, forcing himself to take shallow breaths through his mouth. It caused Rex and spearow to retreat, gagging on the stench, and it caused Kelsie and her pokemon to wake. It was a powerful smelling salt.

"Huh?… What?…" Kelsie sat up slowly, dazed. The smell hit her again, she choked, pulling the neckline of her shirt up over her mouth and nose. "Eurgh!" She got up hurried over to where James and the pokemon were, backing away slowly.

The gloom were angrier than ever. The fact that two of them had fallen asleep had fuelled their fury. One of them, the thickest and tallest, stomped its foot, pointing at the group. It was probably the leader. "Gloom, gloom gloom GLOOM!" It yelled.

"What is it going on about?" James asked, facing Kelsie. His voice was muffled. She shrugged, looking just as confused as he was.

The 'leader' began to understand it was no use. No longer scared or threatened, it stopped producing the foul scent from its flower, urging the only other conscious gloom to do so too. In order to try to get the humans to understand, it pointed, first to the oddish, there were three, then to the holes in the soil. There were four holes. James, who hadn't been around before the gloom and oddish appeared, was still at a loss. Kelsie, however, slowly began to comprehend. One of the oddish was missing.

The gloom had noticed this, about an hour before Kelsie and her pokemon had stopped at the clearing. They had gathered in the thicket to discuss what to do, when flaaffy and Polly had interrupted. Thinking that they were going to attack, they released the stench they usually released when they were scared, and gave chase, only to come across a trainer. Naturally, they thought that this was the trainer who had taken the missing oddish and was back for the rest. In defence, the plants had released their sleep powder and caused the trainer and her pokemon to fall asleep, so that the gloom could resume their talk and come up with a plan to retrieve the missing oddish.

Kelsie didn't know all of that, of course.

"What?" James hissed. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Kelsie was outraged. James apologised. "One of the oddish is missing. There are four holes in the soil, but only three oddish. I guess they thought we were going to take another one or something."

"Is that all?" James looked relieved. He sat down, taking his backpack off and resting it beside him. "I thought they were hungry and wanted to eat us."

"James, you're like twice their size."

"And? They brought you to the floor pretty easily."

"You're right, thank you for saving me from the scary monsters." Kelsie rolled her eyes, her words dripping with sarcasm. James didn't seem to notice, he thought Kelsie was being genuine.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He responded. "I didn't mean to blame you, I just…"

"Gloom!" The bulbous pokemon reminded James of their presence. He grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe we should help them first."

But they didn't want help. In fact, the were still adamant that Kelsie was the perpetrator. Now that they had alerted the humans of the situation, they had expected her to hand the lost oddish back over. They were being kind enough to give her that one chance. Except, to them, Kelsie wasn't taking it. Her chance was running out.

"How?" Kelsie asked, James looked up at her. "We're lost as it is. My main priority is getting out of here before we starve. I'm dirty, achy and hot."

James shrugged, but before they could continue the conversation, the biggest gloom spat a black liquid out of its mouth, aiming for Kelsie. The bubbling liquid missed and landed beside her, burning away at the grass. She shrieked. "Hey!" James cried, leaping up.

Flaaffy and Polly stared, menacingly, at the offending pokemon for trying to attack their trainer. Flaaffy's wool cackled with static and Polly, indignantly, swished her tail. They nodded at one another, having come up with a brilliant battle strategy. Polly released a gush of water, drenching the nearby plants, just before flaaffy attacked with a thundershock. The electric attack hit the water-soaked pokemon and shocked them, more powerfully than it would have originally. The gloom angrily responded with a poison powder attack, releasing sparkly, purple dust into the air.

Spearow came to the rescue again, performing another whirlwind attack, forcing the poisonous dust back. Then, once the air was clear, he zoomed in on the smaller plants, attacking them with his beak. Rex spat embers at the gloom, dodging their retaliations; more acid attacks.

James pulled Kelsie to safety, back in the thicket. He ordered her to stay there, but she refused. He stood behind his pokemon, Kelsie behind him, and yelled: "STOP!" It worked, the pokemon stopped to look at him, but showed signs of waiting to continue. "Stop attacking us! She doesn't have your oddish!"

The gloom, injured badly, sunk to the ground. However, they were still unconvinced. Rex growled at them and flaaffy and Polly squealed angrily. "I promise you," James tried again. "We don't have the missing oddish!"

James' backpack jerked. Tiny squeaks and then high pitched wailing could be heard from it. The plants glared at James, accusingly. He looked panicked, unaware that anything was in his backpack. Anything living, anyway. Green leaves forced their way out of the top, pushing the flap open. A tiny plant jumped out. "Oddiiiish!" It cried, happily.

"Erm… It appears my argument has struck a weak point." James chuckled, nervously. The gloom and other oddish looked thunderous. The oddish squeaked and hid behind James' leg. "They're not angry at you, silly! … Just me." He gulped.

The battle resumed. The gloom were trying to get to James, but his, and Kelsie's pokemon, stopped them. The oddish were too exhausted, they had retreated, back to their holes. The oddish who had gotten lost in James' bag, however, hopped up to Rex, faced the gloom, opened its mouth and shot out a red beam. The beam struck the smallest gloom and it glowed red, its energy draining. The move didn't do much damage, but James and Kelsie were still stunned that it was attacking its own kind.

Their surprise faded, however, when the oddish started attacking all the other pokemon too. It was just eager to battle, eventhough it had no idea why there was a battle.

Eventually, oddish was the only plant pokemon left. Neither Kelsie nor James bothered with the energetic critter, but gathered their stuff and left. The oddish stared after them, sadly. The previous battle was the most fun it had had in ages. It skipped after them.

* * *

Lysander didn't know what to think of Scott. He saw the looks he had given him, the sly glares and suspicious glances. Had this been Vasseur's way of keeping tabs on him?

To escape, Lysander slunk off to where the pokemon were held captive. He felt happier being surrounded by the pokemon, he wished there was some way he could help them. From what he had overheard, most of these pokemon had once had trainers. Vasseur had bribed the elderly couple, who ran the day-care in Johto, to pokenap the pokemon entrusted to them to look after. There were two other minions who ran amok, stealing pokemon from trainers in cruel and vindictive ways.

Lysander felt sorry for these pokemon. They would probably never see their trainers again.

He wandered around the storage rooms, stopping sometimes to stroke the pokemon. A few flinched at his touch, terrified he was about to hurt them, like the other humans had. Others gave him cold stares, longing to break free. He returned their stares, kindly, hopefully letting them know he was promising to help them. He had always loved pokemon, his deepest desire was to study every single one, forming many friendships and bonds. His favourite was the fire type. When he was little, he had always wanted a charmander. Once he had gotten older, and cyndaquils had been discovered, they had quickly become his favourites, particularly their final stage of evolution- typhlosion. How convenient that there was one horded here.

_Once I've set these pokemon free…_ He vowed._ …I'll make this typhlosion my own._


	28. Scott's plan

"That oddish is still following us." Kelsie glanced over her shoulder at the happy, hyperactive plant that was bobbing along behind them. It was singing, cheerfully, getting along well with both James and Kelsie's pokemon.

Kelsie giggled at it, but James just rolled his eyes. "And?"

"You should catch it."

"Why don't you?"

"I don't really want an oddish."

"What makes you think I do?" Kelsie shrugged at his retort. Once again, it was getting dark. This would be the third night camping out in Ilex forest and neither of them had no clue as to how near or far the exit was. James had completely ran out of food and Kelsie only had a little left.

They stopped to set up camp, near a random pond. For some reason, the air felt cooler, refreshing. James set up the tents whilst Kelsie fed the pokemon with the last of her food. Even the oddish.

"Why did you feed him?" James hissed.

"I couldn't let it go hungry!" The oddish squealed in agreement. James stomped off to the pond in a huff, resolving to catch a magikarp for dinner.

Polly dived in the water, happily. She had missed it; swimming about in the cool liquid, playing in the weeds with the other water pokemon. She was more at home in the water than on land. She helped James catch a magikarp easily.

"I guess I'll have to get used to this." Kelsie sighed. "Magikarp, magikarp stew, magikarp pie… I hate fish!"

Flaaffy sat on the log near the pond, watching her friend in the water, ducking when a splash of water came her way. Rex and spearow headed into James' tent, ready for bed. The oddish, who was nocturnal and had become steadily more energetic the darker the sky had become, had completely overexcited itself, watching Polly jump into the pond. It squealed loudly, in exhilaration, and rushed towards the water.

Big mistake.

Though the pond wasn't exactly deep, to a tiny, bulbous pokemon it was. It wasn't until the oddish had plunged itself into its depths, that it realized. It thrashed and flailed about, struggling to keep its head above the water. Polly was underwater at the time, enjoying her swim, so she didn't notice. Flaaffy couldn't do much, she was too afraid that the static in her wool would fry every pokemon in the water, the oddish and Polly included.

It was James who came to the rescue. He waded through the mud and the weeds that surrounded the water's edge and swam over to the oddish, carrying it back to the camp.

From that moment on, oddish never left James alone.

* * *

Finally, Lysander was gone, leaving Scott alone. He could think in peace, at last.

His initial idea involved body-bags to smuggle out weaker pokemon. That way, if he could co-operate with the pokemon, he could pretend he had been conducting experiments with dire consequences. The 'dead' pokemon, maybe even more than one, could then be carried outside, hidden in the body-bag, and released. All he needed was an outside contact to lead the pokemon to safety. Perhaps someone with a farm or ranch, who would make sure the pokemon would remain safe. The only downside was that, in order for his plan to succeed, some pokemon would have to be sacrificed and left behind, so that Vasseur, and all the other sadistic henchmen, wouldn't get suspicious.

Ok, so that wasn't the only downside. He also needed a contact. Liana Rose was the only person he could think of with the facilities to contain a large amount of pokemon. But, she had Pedro and her farm to look after. She also had no means of getting to and from Kanto herself, let alone transporting pokemon as well.

He also had no means of contact. He was sure that the phone-lines were tapped. Every word he said, every plan he revealed, would be heard by the enemy. He would have to think of another way to communicate with the outside world.

He had had another brainwave. It would require a lot of planning, though. If he could, somehow, create a sort of army with the stronger pokemon, perhaps he could bring Vasseur down. It would also be a way to make it look less conspicuous; keeping the stronger pokemon behind, whilst helping the weaker ones escape.

* * *

"Morning campers!" A loud, but breezy voice sailed into James' tent, waking him. Actually, it was Rex who had woken him. Once he had heard the strange voice, he leapt up and started howling. Spearow awoke with a start, launching himself at the houndour, trying to get him to shut up. It had the opposite effect- it made Rex worse.

James threw the blanket, that was covering his sleeping bag, at the scrapping pokemon and, when that didn't work, he wriggled his way out of the bag, frantically scrambling around for his belt, the one that had Rex and spearow's pokeballs on.

What his tent must have looked like from the outside was laughable.

Once he had finally gotten his pokemon to behave, by returning them, he hurried to get dressed, to find out who that strange voice belonged to.

Kelsie looked just as tired as he did. The air was still cool and a few ledyba could be seen in the trees; it must have been pretty early. Kelsie and James usually got up late morning, their pokemon just before them. Never had any of them awoken this early, though.

"What's going on?" James yawned, stretching. Kelsie pointed at the campfire. There, crouched over, prodding the already charred wood with a twig, trying to fuel the flames, was a teenage girl. Her attire was perfect, she clearly hadn't been camping as long as James and Kelsie had. Her crimson hair was familiar, James seemed to remember meeting someone who had the same amethyst and electric blue tints decorating their hair.

"Hungry?" She asked, with a smile, fixing her chocolate-coloured eyes especially on Kelsie's pokemon. "Breakfast is almost ready." At the word 'breakfast', James' stomach growled, loudly. Last night's magikarp hadn't gone down too well.

Oddish, who had been sitting near the pond, waddled over to the group gathering around the fire. It settled itself next to the new girl, gazing up at her in curiosity. "Aww, cute oddish!" She exclaimed, the oddish beamed. "Whose is it?"

Kelsie pointed to James, before he could even say anything. He glared at her, but oddish's beam grew bigger and it rushed over to its saviour, plonking itself down in his lap.

"It likes you." The girl giggled.

"Not to be rude, but who are you?" James' tone contradicted his words.

She, however, was unaffected. "Oh, sorry. I should have realised you wouldn't remember me. I'm the girl whose pokemon you saved."

A look of realization struck Kelsie's face. "Oh!" She cried. "You're the breeder! Kirralie!" Kirralie nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I've started my journey." She looked immensely proud of herself, as she indicated the pokeballs on her belt. There was one more than last time. "I was on my way to Azalea to get my first badge."

"That would explain why you don't look so dirty and tired." James mumbled, glancing at her again. She didn't even look fazed that it was only seven o'clock in the morning. She was very pretty though; creamy skin, mesmerising smile.

Kirralie chuckled. "I can usually make this journey in two days." James was beginning to find her attitude annoying, despite her beauty.

"Get you."

"That's great, when did you start?"

"About two days after I left you. I took my pokemon and headed out to Violet. Got my badge and went to Goldenrod. Whitney is tough though." The three of them spent the morning talking about their adventures so far. Kirralie introduced her pokemon; she had a female bellsprout who had been her first ever caught pokemon, a female hoppip which she had caught on her way to Violet city, a female togepi who had just hatched a few days ago and a male pichu. Which was a darker yellow than any other pichu or pikachu James had seen.

"So that's settled then," Kelsie's voice brought James out of his trance. "We'll see you in a few days." Kirralie got up, waved goodbye to the two of them and their pokemon and then started her journey to Azalea.

"What?"

"I invited her to hang around with us for a little while, once she won her gym battle against Bugsy." Kelsie got up also and began to pack away her tent. "Hope that's ok?"

"Looks like I don't have a choice."


	29. Girls will be girls

In the end, James _did_ catch the oddish. He thought that if he was stuck with it anyway, he may as well give it a pokeball to hide it away when it got particularly annoying. His mood worsened when he found out his new pokemon was only level seven and knew only two moves. Well, three if you included cut, which he taught it after finding out the disappointing news. The oddish was also female- his first female pokemon.

James decided to use route thirty-four for some urgent training. Oddish was very eager, she put her new move to practise straight away; slicing the blades, of a nearby patch of grass, in half. Powerful, for a pokemon at such a low level.

There were plenty of trainers out here; enjoying the sunshine, training their pokemon against wild ones, battling other trainers and going through strategies. As soon as the two trainers set foot out of the humid forest and onto the, slightly cooler, route, they looked around in relief. No more greenery!

The first thing Kelsie noticed was the day-care centre, a tall building in the distance, embedded in shrubbery. She and James had read about its facilities in his brochure. It had boasted a glorious garden; huge and filled with many things to entertain all types of pokemon. This included: water features for water pokemon, rough terrain and boulders for rock or ground types to dig or build up their strength, long, luxurious grass and beautiful, exotic plants for grass and bug types, towering trees for flying types and much more. The pictures in the brochure took their breath away. The centre was run by an old Japanese couple called Akita and Yorito Tundra, their picture was slightly blurry, but they looked decent enough. The old man was pictured with a cane, and he was smiling; causing his crinkled eyes to shut. His wife was small and frail, barely reaching her husband's shoulders. Both had wispy silver hair, though Yorito's was more tufts behind his ears.

"Seems alright to me." Kelsie had commented. "You should leave your oddish there whilst we go challenge the gym leader. Might toughen her up a bit." James had agreed, but he wanted to do some training with her himself first. He needed plenty of training in getting along with her.

But challenging Whitney, the gym leader, wasn't the only thought on his mind. Goldenrod was home to a lot of wonderful things- the radio tower, a massive department store and a bike shop, to name a few. Oh, how he longed for a bike. It would make travelling so much easier on his poor feet. He had the image of him zooming along, spearow flying beside him, Rex charging after him and oddish in a little basket.

First things first, though. Both trainers were in desperate need of a shower or bath and their clothes needed washing too. Some decent rest would have been nice, not to mention some good, wholesome food. The trainers on route thirty-four would surely wait.

Oddish wouldn't.

James was in two minds to leave her in the day-care centre, there and then, and collect her later. The idea of spending more money than he had to didn't appeal to him, however.

"You go." He told Kelsie, with a sigh. "I'll join up with you later."

"You sure? I could stay with you, if you wanted." The tension between them, from the past few days, had completely eased off, thankfully. Though James was slightly annoyed that Kelsie had invited a total stranger to travel with them, without consulting him, he had gotten over it. Eventhough Kirralie was rather annoying, he figured it would be alright. Fun, even.

"Nah, I need to bond with her." James fixed his gaze on the little oddish, who was chasing a wild abra, becoming more and more enthused each time it teleported away and re-appeared somewhere else. James was sure that the abra was doing that just for amusement. "I'll see you at dinner, save me a seat." Kelsie promised to do so and headed off, towards the city. James watched her walk for a while, letting his oddish have her fun, and then called her over.

She proved to be pretty tough, taking down a fair few rattata and snubbull, mainly with her cut attack. Her absorb was pretty weak, barely making her opponents flinch. James wanted to work on that, but, from her previous experience, oddish had become deathly afraid of water. She squealed and wailed, shrilly and loudly, every time she even approached it, causing James to receive plenty of dark looks from nearby trainers. He mumbled apologies and scooped oddish up every time, transporting her to the other side of the path.

It took him a while to sum up the courage, but, eventually, he decided that challenging some trainers would be his best bet. If he was lucky, and that was doubtful, they would have some pokemon he could practise oddish's absorb on.

"Hey, you!" James ran towards a nearby boy who had a pokemon out, attacking wild pokemon. At first, he looked up, startled. His pokemon- a sandy-coloured shrew- looked up also. "Fancy a battle?"

"Alright." He fixed his cap, which was on backwards, squishing it down further and flattening his brown hair. He nodded at his pokemon and it rolled forwards. Oddish tried to imitate it, but didn't do so well. She ended up in a heap, but giggled happily, nonetheless. "Go Sandy! Scratch!" The pokemon leapt at oddish, its claws unfurled. They slashed the air, narrowly missing oddish, who had dodged to the side.

"Absorb!" James' luck had taken effect. The sandshrew's energy drained quickly, causing it to crash to the ground, due to its weakness. James punched the air in victory, oddish hopped up and down excitedly. "Yes! Well done oddish!"

"I do have more than one pokemon." The smile on James' face rapidly transformed into an embarrassed grin, nervousness devouring him.

* * *

Feeling much more refreshed after her shower, Kelsie dressed, snaffled some sandwiches from a nearby vendor, quickly ate, and then went to collect her pokemon from Nurse Joy. They had only needed a little rest and had spent the rest of their time waiting playing with the other pokemon. Kelsie had chosen to sleep later and go to bed early.

"So," She asked, not really expecting an answer. "What shall we do?" She wasn't really in the mood for training, she had decided to do that tomorrow. And she was sure that James would want to join her in having a wander about town. He had raved about the radio tower and had drivelled on, endlessly, about getting a bike.

So she decided to do what girls did best- shop.

Polly and Flaaffy's bows had been ripped to tatters whilst they had trekked through dozens and dozens of thickets and hedgerow, so Kelsie bought them new ones. Polly picked out a purple, velvet one. Kelsie preferred the silk. It looked better. Polly twirled round and round, trying to get a look at herself in the mirror, to admire her new accessory.

Flaaffy opted for a more striking option. She quite liked the rainbow-coloured ones and the metallic-coloured. Kelsie laughed at her enthusiasm. In the end, flaaffy left the department store with a bright, sparkly, rainbow-coloured bow, attached to the wool that rested on top of her head.

Kelsie didn't leave empty handed either. Most of her clothes were in the pokemon centre's washing machine, leaving her with some jeans and her colder weather clothes. It was because of that that she had bought herself some new ones. Any excuse.

* * *

"Aw, man!" Oddish had finally been taken down. After knocking out the trainer's first pokemon, she had gone on to defeat his rattata and deal some severe damage to his spearow. However, as the spearow was a higher level, though only just, thanks to oddish's previous training, and at a type advantage, it was able to successfully send oddish down for the count.

"Rex, you're up." The, rapidly growing, houndour appeared, snarling at the bird pokemon in front of him. The spearow looked unfazed, in fact, James was sure that, if spearow were able, it would snarl straight back.

"Use leer!" The spearow narrowed its eyes, leering at Rex. He whined and walked backwards, retreating from the bird.

"Don't be a baby!" James cried. "You know you can take him!" A few embers and a badly burnt wing proved James right. The next pokemon- another spearow- was just as easy. The young trainer forked over his money and sulked off.

James ran to the pokemon centre to heal his oddish and to give Rex and spearow a rest. He headed up to his room, to bathe and change, and collected his pokemon, half an hour later, to resume his training.

"How's it going?" Kelsie asked, startling James, several hours later.

"Yeah, it's… eventful."

"Bonding?" She could tell they were, James had more patience with the oddish than before. "I got her a gift." She produced another bow from behind her back and fitted it to the leaves on oddish's head. It was rather small, royal blue to compliment the colour of her body. Oddish was pleased, but James was disgusted. He would never, _ever_, understand why girls needed to accessorize.

However, he was stuck with a bow-wearing oddish. Every time he tried to remove it, oddish would perform her high-pitched wailing trick. James couldn't compete with that.

* * *

The next morning came quickly, as both trainers headed off to bed straight after dinner. The set off early, to cram in their sight-seeing, before filling the rest of the day with battling. That was their plan, anyway, and everyone knows how plans don't always go according to… well, plan.

Before they started, though, James posed the question of leaving oddish in the day-care centre, to help out her training. His other pokemon had been given a head start, after all, as he had began his journey with them. Kelsie seemed to think it was a good idea, but James was still unsure. He had a niggling feeling and he wasn't quite sure what it was.

_It's probably just the fact that I'd be leaving her with strangers…_ He told himself. _…That, and the fact that we'd all be having fun without her._

But, standing outside the aptly dubbed '_Pokemon Paradise_' and staring at the Tundra's smiling faces, didn't make him feel any better.


	30. Truce?

He'd have to think of something. And fast.

Vasseur was making his way along the corridor, making surprise inspections. Scott felt like he was in medical school again.

It was only by chance he had found out. He had left his office, about to search for Lysander, when he had heard Vasseur's voice, sailing out of an office further down. He had mentioned something about; 'wanting to see what progress had been made'. Scott assumed that these surprise inspections were his way of weeding out all those who had done nothing so far. Those who had disagreed with his plans, but had went along with them to live. Scott was one of those people. He had been so busy coming up with his own plan that he hadn't even invented proof that he was helping the bad guys with theirs.

Time to be creative.

Scott had dashed back into his office and began to scrawl upon a notepad. He hadn't even bothered to enlighten Lysander of Vasseur's motives. Any excuse to weed him out was fine by him.

* * *

Lysander already knew. He had the same train of thought as Scott. The sooner the two began to trust each other, the better. Only, neither of them knew that.

Sat in the cramped space that was Scott's, and now his, laboratory, he began to invent formulas and describe process changes that would take place in the pokemon he experimented on. All fake, of course, not that Vasseur would know. All he had to do was say that these were ideas on paper and he needed to tweak them before he carried them out. Hopefully, it would be enough to get Vasseur to leave him alone for the time being.

Once done, he headed back to the office he shared with Scott. Since his arrival, the two men had co-operated enough to separate the room into two halves. They had pushed the two tables to either side of the room, so that they didn't have to face each other. They had split all of the office supplies they had been provided with and they each got on with their own thing.

Lysander was surprised to see Scott hurriedly scribbling away on a notepad. He had assumed that Scott had already come up with a plan; he was often seen writing away, furiously. Lysander presumed that Scott had already decided what to do, that was one of the main reasons he kept away. He would have no part in this.

* * *

"Care to tell me why you both have different ideas?" Vasseur sneered, his eyes flickering upwards at the two men standing, nervously, before him. "Surely the idea of being a team is to work together?"

They glanced at each other, struggling to keep their faces blank. "Well… You see…" Lysander stuttered, causing Vasseur to raise one of his faint eyebrows.

"We haven't quite had the time to talk to each other." Scott interjected, his voice calm. "You see, Vasseur, we decided to come up with our own plans and then share them." All the while, Lysander nodded beside him. "We never got that far, however, as Lysander's idea ended up slightly more complicated and he wanted to go over it, one last time."

"I could see that." Vasseur scanned the formulas again. He seemed to have believed the story Scott had spun. Lysander took the opportunity to sneak another glance at Scott. His face was set, no real expression was visible, Lysander couldn't tell what he was up to.

"Very well." Vasseur said, at last. "I'm very excited to see what you two come up with. I understand, however that the process will be a long one." He got up, cast another look at the two men and left, his lackeys following behind.

"I'm surprised." Lysander turned his stare to Scott, who headed back to his computer. "If you already have a plan, why didn't you submit that?"

"What plan?" The same expressionless tone again, Lysander found it unnerving.

"The plan you have spent endless days and nights on, put so much detail into. Not that scrawl I just saw you write."

"I have no plan." Scott looked at him. He sighed, in two minds as to tell the truth or not. In the end he said no more. This only infuriated Lysander. He stormed out of the room and into the storage room, frightening the pokemon as he slammed the door.

"He's up to something." He muttered to them. "If he knows, why didn't he hand me over? He's definitely up to something."

* * *

Eventually, Scott decided that the best thing for him to do was to co-operate with the enemy. If Lysander had a plan for this 'super pokemon', then he should go along with it. Not for his sake, but for the pokemon. At least this way he would be guaranteed a chance to help them escape, as he would be safe from Vasseur getting rid of him. He would be doing what he wanted, after all, just working behind his back too.

Lysander proved hard to find. Only because Scott looked in all the wrong places. He never expected him to be with the pokemon. He thought he was one of the evil ones.

"What are you doing here?" Scott, about an hour later, had stumbled into the storage room, believing that Lysander would be in the laboratory that was out the back. Instead, he had found him in the storage room, the pokemon cages open, sitting on the floor, writing. Planning.

Lysander looked up, startled. He had been rumbled. Trembling, he shooed the pokemon back into their prisons and faced Scott, uttering; "Please, don't hand me in." He looked petrified, his youth beginning to show. Scott actually felt sorry for him, sorry that he had misjudged him.

"It's ok." He whispered, reassuringly. He locked the door behind him, which caused Lysander to panic more. "I want to help them too." This time, Lysander saw the softness in his face, his eyes looked kindly, gentle. It was completely different to the face he had seen when Scott talked to Vasseur, when he talked about the 'super pokemon' plan. He believed him. It didn't mean he trusted him. Trust was a hard thing to gain.

Lysander had said nothing all this time. Scott studied him, fearing he had made a mistake. "This was all a trap, wasn't it." He began to laugh in disbelief. He had been so careful, how could he have slipped up now?"

"W-what?" Lysander was confused. "A trap?"

"Of course! Vasseur wouldn't trust me, I've been so openly against this." Scott shook his head at his own stupidity. "He sent you to spy on me and when that didn't work, he concocted this. He wanted to catch me out." He laughed again, sadly. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"N-no! I haven't spied on you!" Lysander insisted. "Honest! I genuinely want to help them! I've been here, everyday, trying to get them to trust me." He claimed, desperately. "I swear Scott, I thought _you_ were one of them!"

There was silence for a while, the two men staring at each other. Lysander looked completely worn down, Scott began to wonder if Vasseur would trust someone as young and as weak as him anyway. He studied him carefully, looking for any signs to show he was lying. He couldn't find any.

"What plan do you have in mind?" He asked, finally. Lysander, again, looked confused. "To help them escape."

"None." He squeaked, ashamed.

Unsure of whether to trust him completely, Scott didn't know how much information he should divulge. So many things could go wrong and he would have preferred to work alone. However, he still needed an outside contact, a cover-up plan and his initial plans still needed some fine tuning. He would have to admit that he needed help if he ever wanted to carry his plan out.

The two of them walked back to the office in silence. Once inside, Scott shut the door, giving them as much privacy as he could, and then walked over to his desk. Admittedly, he didn't want to unveil it here, but it was the only room where they could talk freely, without anyone wondering where they had gone. There were no cameras in here.

He opened the bottom drawer and took out a file. He had nowhere else to hide it, so he hadn't bothered to try. He spread it out on the table, open, right in front of Lysander. Confusion seemed to be his new, permanent look.

Scott enlightened him. "I have a plan."


	31. Goldenrod city

_Some sights in Goldenrod may be exaggerated or elaborated on, due to entertainment purposes. And to prove that I have an imagination and that I haven't just completely copied the games. :) Oh also, the questions are easy, because, lets face it, the game ones were. And, to be honest, Kelsie and James aren't exactly pokemon geniuses. _

"She'll be fine." Kelsie promised, as she and James made their way back into the city. James had insisted he accompany his pokemon out back and had followed the old lady through her little cottage to the garden, where there were a few other pokemon and her husband.

Oddish made her self at home straight away, befriending a hoppip and another oddish. They skipped about happily, through the long grass, and started to play.

"You're pokemon are in capable hands." He was told. "You will collect them tomorrow morning. You can go now. Shoo." He had been ushered out of the garden, back through the cottage and back out onto route thirty-four. The old woman bade them goodbye and shut the door. James had thought that her behaviour was slightly odd, but Kelsie didn't seem to have noticed. She thought he was just being worried.

James relaxed, once he spotted the Radio Tower. It wasn't exactly hard to miss, it towered over the rest of the buildings, sturdy, metal, black in colour, a huge antenna placed on top. Kelsie thought it looked kind of gloomy. James spewed random tidbits of information; ranging from the radio shows to its history. Kelsie listened with feigned interest. As much as she was enjoying being a trainer, it was still only a necessity to find her typhlosion. She didn't particularly want to know about much else, other than how to acquire the badges.

And, of course, she was interested in her new friends- Polly and flaaffy.

James wasn't interested much in shopping and Kelsie had had a quick look around yesterday, so they decided to leave the department store till last. Other than the tall, bricked building, Goldenrod's Games Corner was the closet landmark.

Perhaps it was because of the weather, or perhaps it was due to the large amount of people and pokemon crowded around the slot machines, roulette tables, and other various gambling equipment, but it was extremely stuffy inside. Kelsie could see that the place was air conditioned; there were huge fans on the ceiling, spinning around furiously. However, they seemed to take no effect. The brightly-coloured carpet was plush and thick, it was springy to walk on.

It was noisy too. The two trainers could barely hear themselves think over the joyous screams of winning, cries of frustration, numbers and odds being called and the often; "_Place your bets… now!_" being shouted. Everywhere they looked, money was being won, lost or exchanged. Pokemon were often helping their owners cheat, or being hugged or kissed for luck.

Kelsie and James squeezed their way through the crowds, forcing their way to the back room. It was slightly cooler in here, due to the smaller amount of people. The floor was still carpeted, except for in the middle where it was tiled, lights from the disco ball above reflected upon them.

It was smoky in the back room; several men in business suits were sat at a table, smoking cigars and drinking shots. Actually, they weren't the only ones, a few people sat at the bar were smoking too.

"Hey!" The bartender called out, causing Kelsie and James to jump. "No pokemon allowed in here! Can't you read the sign?" They hurried out, and sure enough, there was a plaque on the wall to the right of the door- '_No pokemon, over 18s only_' It appeared they only just made the cut to be allowed in themselves.

A quick wander around showed them all of the Games Corner's features. It was like a mini casino. It even had a room where winners could exchange cash won for prizes. Pokemon such as abras, wobbuffets and dratinis could be bought or exclusive TMs could be purchased.

It was such a relief to feel the cooler air outside after being in there.

Because of James' insistence, they visited the Radio Tower next. James thought that it was sheer luck that they were having a special campaign, the day that they were visiting. All they had to do was answer five questions and they would win a radio card. Slide it into your pokegear and listen to the radio for free!

James ignored the greeting and rushed straight up to the counter. "You must be here for the campaign." The woman smiled, James nodded, eagerly. "OK sweetie, answer five questions correctly and you'll win a radio card. Ready for question one?"

"Yes." Kelsie took a seat near the stairs, waiting for James to finish. The woman noticed her and flashed her a smile too.

"Tell you what," She added in her ever-cheery voice. "I'll throw in another one for your friend too." She typed something in her computer and waited for the questions to appear, apparently too incompetent to come up with them herself. "Ok, here we go! Question one- Name the HM that allows you light in a dark cave."

"Erm…" James had to think for a second, but he soon drew a smile. "That would be flash."

"Correct! Question two- How would you get an eevee to evolve into a vaporeon?"

James knew this one. "Use a water stone."

"Correct!" The next two were easy too. He was feeling fairly confident. He only had one more question: "Question five- Are houndour native to Kanto, or Johto?" The woman frowned as she read. She assumed that James knew this answer, he had a houndour after all. Rex barked and wagged his tail. In truth, James didn't know. He had never been to Kanto and this was his first time in Johto.

"J-Kanto?" He said, completely unsure.

"Yes, Kanto, correct!" The woman slid two radio cards across the counter, towards him. "Well done and thank you for taking part in our campaign!"

"Well, she was certainly breezy." Kelsie laughed as they climbed the stairs. She slid her new card into her pokegear and selected the radio. A fuzzy static sound pierced her ears, earning her some glares from other visitors who were sitting in the café on the first floor.

"It needs fine tuning." James helped her and soon she could hear the delightful sound of music. "Man, I'm starving."

"Nothing new there." Kelsie chuckled, watching James grab a tray and pile on heaps of food. They spent a while eating and resting their feet, mainly in James' case, before returning their pokemon and joining a small group of three other trainers for a tour.

The tour wasn't very long, or as informative as James, who kept adding snippets after the guide had spoken, but the five trainers had been shown each floor and its inhabitants, if they were around. Many of the technicians ignored them, carrying on with their work, but a few were polite enough to wave and say hello.

To the youngest boy's disappointment, neither Mary nor Professor Oak were in their studio. However, Buena chatted happily with them, showing them her equipment and issuing each of the tourists a gift from her stash of prizes. James received an ultra ball and Kelsie received a full restore. Both very useful items to the two trainers.

Back outside, James was still buzzing. He gazed up at the enormous building for ages, before Kelsie managed to drag him off to the bike shop. His mood quickly changed when he saw the prices.

"How much?" He exclaimed, turning his pockets out to count the money he had with him. There wasn't much. The majority was nestled in his bag, which was hidden, safely, away in his room at the pokemon centre. Even with that ever-decreasing wad of money he still didn't have enough. "I really want a bike."

"Sorry kid, I need the money." The shop owner didn't sound sorry. "Maybe your girlfriend will pool her money with yours."

"Girlfriend?" James spluttered. His reaction offended Kelsie, who stormed out. The shop owner guffawed and James left the shop rather red in the face. "Well there's no flipping chance now."

Kelsie wasn't waiting for him outside like he had hoped. She was in the flower shop. Not that she was hoping to buy anyone flowers, it was more of the fact that she wanted James to enter and humiliate himself, just like he had just humiliated her.

He didn't. He hovered around outside. In the end, Kelsie gave up and left, in a fouler mood than before.

"I'm sorry." He said, meekly. "It was just… I don't know, but I didn't mean to offend you." To make up for his behaviour, he bought her a pokedoll when they were browsing the department store. It was supposed to cheer her up, but it had the opposite effect. Instead, she burst into tears.

James, being male, fidgeted, uncomfortable around crying girls. "I'm sorry," He whispered, apologising again. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just figured that, as they didn't have a typhlosion doll, you would have wanted that one."

"James it's lovely." Kelsie assured him, wiping away her tears.

That night, before she went to sleep, she cradled the plush toy, that James had bought her, once again, holding back the tears. She said goodnight to her pokemon and turned out the light, getting comfy in the slightly lumpy bed. She closed her eyes and was soon asleep; her and her pokemon's light snores filling the room. In her arms, a soft, cuddly cyndaquil was nestled.


	32. Stop! Pokethief!

"Which pokemon have you got for us today then, Akita?" It was the crack of dawn; the sky was a pinkish haze, sunlight was just starting to light up the sky and pidgey were starting to sing in the trees. The day-care centre's opening times clearly stated that it was shut until eight am, but the doors had been opened, allowing two men to enter.

They were led out back, most of the pokemon were still sleeping. The dark haired male nodded at his companion and he made to head towards the pokemon, sack ready. However, the old woman held her arm out and stopped him. "Ah. Money first."

Scowling, the man without the sack handed over the fistful of cash. The woman made them wait until she had counted it, thoroughly, and was satisfied that it was all there. She smiled and gestured for the men to continue, retreating back into her cottage.

The man with the sack, Anson, headed towards the pokemon, once again. The hardest part of this job was trying to stuff all of the pokemon into the sack without them escaping. He had suggested that the Tundras ask the trainers to leave the pokeballs too, but they had insisted that that would seem too suspicious. Anson had muttered that this whole setup was suspicious anyway, and often wondered why no-one had twigged yet. Still, he was getting paid, so he kept his mouth shut.

Originally, he had been ordered to take all of the pokemon, but it had been agreed that it was too risky. His boss, in the end, had settled for the rarer pokemon. There was a small, brown-coloured pokemon dozing under a tree, its face shielded by a skull mask. Anson gently prized the bone from its grasp, to protect himself incase it woke up, and then threw the sack over the pokemon's head. It awoke instantly and began to flail about, but Anson swiftly tied the sack up. He chucked it over to his partner in crime and produced another sack, looking for his next treasure.

"That one." Chas was pointing over by the pond. Resting by the edge was a small, round, blue fish with two white fins and two tiny, blue feet. It had two tail-like antennae sticking out of its rear end, teardrop shaped orbs, yellow in colour, hung off the end of them. Unique enough.

Anson agreed and stealthily snuck over to it. A few minutes later and the chinchou was captured too.

This process normally took a while, being as neither of the poachers wanted to wake the sleeping pokemon and alert them of their presence. Today, was no exception. In no sooner than an hour, five more sacks joined the other two at Chas' feet. Muffled cries came from them and each one wriggled as the pokemon furiously fought to get out.

For obvious reasons, no fire pokemon were chosen. However, none of the sacks would last long if the pokemon continued to attack, which they would. Which was why Anson brought out his gengar and had him teleport the pokemon back to their boss.

"I think that will do for today." Chas grinned, satisfied with their haul, and glanced at his watch. It was ten-to-eight. Time to put their cover-up plan into action. "Come on."

Anson wasn't listening. He was giving the remaining pokemon the once over, checking that there weren't any more rare, or rare-ish, pokemon left. There weren't, but one of the oddish stood out to him. Mainly because she had a dark blue bow pinned to her shoots. "We haven't captured an oddish yet, have we?" He hissed, taking quite a liking to the small creature.

"No, why?" Chas looked up and sighed, guessing, correctly, what had happened. "Quickly then." It was a good job that Anson had a spare sack on him. And at least they didn't have to fill it with rocks to fool passers-by. Now they had a real pokemon to trick them.

Gengar teleported the two men back to headquarters and then, in a flash, was back. Akita handed him the sack and stood back to allow him to do his magic.

* * *

Having missed his pokemon, something he thought he would never happen when he first caught her, James awoke early. Luckily, Kelsie had woken up early too, due to the fact she was in desperate need of the toilet.

He spotted her, walking back to her room half asleep, on his way down to breakfast and managed to catch up with her before she disappeared, back into her room. She laughed at his urgency, but agreed to come with him, happy he was getting along with her.

Munching their toast, the two of them headed down the deserted route, to the day-care centre. They were early, but James didn't mind waiting. He was eager to see how many levels, if any, his oddish had grown. He plonked himself down on the dusty path, resting his back against the railings of the day-care.

Kelsie chose the grassy option, preferring not to get her clothes too dirty. They had left their pokemon behind, as they were all still asleep, but Kelsie had decided to take her egg. She cradled it, admiring the pattern, wondering, for the thousandth time, which pokemon it was.

Eventually, about twenty minutes or so later, the door to the cottage creaked open. James jumped up and dusted himself down, before hurrying towards the doorway. Only to be barged into the doorframe by the frail old lady from yesterday. "Stop! Thief!" She yelled, James was confused, he had seen no-one else rush past.

Kelsie gasped, pointing at the purple pokemon that was gliding, gracefully through the air. It was carrying a sack, which was tightly shut, a small bulge at the bottom visible. Which was moving.

Akita Tundra ran out onto the path, bent over and wheezed. Kelsie and James, and a few other onlookers, never would have guessed it was for show. The plan was that she alerted as many people as possible, struggle to give chase and then the gengar would lead anyone following a few times around Goldenrod, before teleporting itself to safety. That way, no-one suspected the Tundras of stealing the pokemon that were left in their care and they could carry on their operation.

"Someone please, help!" She cried out, pathetically. Two girls, who were closest to Goldenrod, sped after the ghost, one whipping out her mobile and dialling, presumably the police.

"Which pokemon was stolen?" James demanded, desperately hoping that that small bulge wasn't what, or who, he thought it was.

Akita didn't answer, she carried on with her act. But James wasn't giving up. After repeatedly trying, and failing, to get an answer for about a minute, he stormed towards the cottage, determined to find out for himself.

"No!" She cried, not wanting him to see that more than one pokemon were taken. "Erm, it was a…" She struggled to think, unsure if she even actually knew. "… An oddish, I think." James' worst fears were confirmed. He glanced at Kelsie and then took off into the city. He knew that his chances of catching up with the gengar were extremely slim, but he had to try.

Kelsie took off too. She raised the alarm at the pokemon centre, grabbed her pokemon and burst into every single dorm until she found James'. With Rex at her heels and spearow gliding beside her, she tore down the streets.

Luckily, gengar was coming full circle and breezed past her shoulder, just as she was passing the Games Corner. "Go, Polly!" She threw her pokeball and Polly popped out. "Water gun!" Kelsie knew hypnosis would have been her best bet, but with the gengar facing away from her, fleeing, it wouldn't work. Polly opened her mouth and released a jet of water, just hitting the gengar, just as Kelsie released her other pokemon. "Flaaffy, thunder wave!" The sheep bounded forward, charging her static. The gengar took the opportunity to speed up, increasing the gap between him and Kelsie. She doubled up, a stitch in her side, gasping for air. Flaaffy let off a crackling jolt and hit the ghost, but it teleported away, obviously instructed to do so if under attack.

"Kelsie!" James rushed towards her, panting himself. "Are you ok? Where did it go? Where's Rex?" Kelsie raised her head, looking around, frantically. Rex had been right behind her.

"We… gave… chase…" She huffed, sweat dripping down her face, which bore a panicked look. This only increased James' fear. "… Rex was just… there…" She pointed behind her. "… But I had to… stop…"

"Kelsie?" James sounded worried, his voice seemed to shrink. "Please tell me Rex is here." There was a pleading look in his eyes.

"He must have jumped on it as it teleported." Kelsie straightened up, her breath coming back. "I'm so sorry." James sounded like he had been winded. He fell to the floor, trying hard not to cry. Kelsie's lip quivered. "I recognised that gengar James, it was the one who put Kirralie to sleep, maybe we could get Rex back." James nodded, weakly. Two of his pokemon had been poke-napped, by the same pokemon. If only that old woman had told him sooner, maybe he could have caught up.

And then what? What could he have done to a ghost?

Resigned, James dragged himself back to the pokemon centre with Kelsie. Officer Jenny; a tall, uniformed, female police officer with blue hair, squished underneath a cap. had arrived and was taking down information from the onlookers. She wanted to talk to Kelsie and James too.

They answered her questions and told her what had happened. A picture of oddish and Rex was put on the bulletin board, along with the other missing posters. James shot it a glare and stormed out of the centre.

* * *

_Yeah, I know that gengar's don't learn teleport, but for the sake of my story, they do._

_Anyway, review pleeeeeease! :)_


	33. Continuing Goldenrod city's tour

He was going to make those poachers pay. All he needed was to find them.

Like that was ever going to happen.

He kicked a nearby stone, scuffing his shoe, and sunk to the floor. The sounds of the city blended into a distant roar as he buried his head into his arms. If someone had told him, before he started this journey, that he would be this attached to a houndour, he would have just laughed. He always imagined that he would have started out with a tauros. Or a golduck. But now, he had really bonded with Rex, he was more than just a pokemon, just like his oddish and spearow were. They were his friends. He understood why Kelsie was so upset about loosing her typhlosion.

He sighed, he could still hear Rex's barks, faintly, in his mind. They were getting louder, clearer…

He looked up and barely had time to blink, before Rex leapt onto his lap and licked his face, covering him in slobbery drool. "Rex!" James cried, happily, flinging his arms around the houndour and hugging him tightly. He hadn't even noticed the sack that had dropped out of Rex's mouth, until he heard a muffled, indignant, squeal.

* * *

_The female had stopped, gasping for air. Her pokemon- the flaaffy- had just fired an electric jolt into the air, aiming for the purple ghost ahead of them. _

_Rex had no idea what was going on, but he guessed it was something bad. The last time he had seen this gengar; it was putting a human to sleep. Not for kind reasons either. Its trainers were malicious._

_There was something moving in the sack the gengar carried. Being a canine, Rex had exceptional hearing, and those wails were familiar. Very familiar. They reminded him of the newest, most annoying member of their team. Oddish._

_He sped up, passing the stationary trainer and her pokemon, and leapt, seizing the sack between his teeth. The gengar fled; teleporting itself away, just as Rex landed and the flaaffy's thunder wave struck._

_Rex looked around, confused. Where had the villainous ghost gone? He carried on running down the road, searching. He turned the corner, leaving the city, just as his trainer arrived beside the other, also out of breath._

* * *

Kelsie looked around, checking to see if she had packed everything. Her rented room had been emptied; every piece of clothing that had filled the chest of drawers now lay, folded as neatly as possible, in her rucksack. Every new item purchased from the department store, be it for her or her pokemon, was now hidden away in the bag's pockets. Her pokemon had been returned and her egg was safely nestled on top of her clothes.

She still had no clue as to where her typhlosion was, but her main priority, right now, was helping James find his pokemon. She knew that, if he was in trouble, her typhlosion was strong enough to look after himself. For now, at least.

How wrong she was.

"James?" Kelsie knocked on the door of the room he was staying in. She thought he would be back by now, but, judging by the silence that greeted her, apparently he wasn't. Either that or he didn't want to talk to anyone.

She sighed and opened the door. The room was empty, apart from James' things. Litter was strewn on the floor and clothes were thrown about everywhere. Why were guys so messy? She picked up and folded the clothes, then laid them on his bed. She needed to talk to him, before she left, just incase he had something different in mind.

She left the room, resolving to find him. He entered the pokemon centre, just as Kelsie descended the stairs. His face was unreadable, mainly due to the fact that it was hung, him facing the floor. James walked up to the bulletin board, stared at the 'missing' posters, particularly his own, and then, without warning, he ripped it off the board, ripping it in two, a grin on his face.

"What did you do that for?" Kelsie asked, rushing over to him, worried by his behaviour.

He looked up, the strange grin still on his face. How could he be grinning at a time like this?

"It doesn't belong up there." He said, simply. "It belongs… in here." He scrunched it up and dropped it in the bin. It landed with a clunk, rattling around in the empty, metal container, before settling in the middle, stationary.

"Have you completely lost it?" Kelsie was shocked. "Someone could spot that poster, someone who could have seen them. They could help you find them!"

James nodded in that infuriating way people nod when they were disinterested. "Yeah, you're right." He agreed. "People will see my pokemon, when I defeat them in a battle." Completely befuddled, Kelsie just stared. James pulled two pokeballs off of his belt, enlarged them, and then pressed the buttons in the middle of each sphere. Two pokemon materialized before Kelsie's eyes, which widened in amazement and shock. Two pokemon which were supposed to be stolen.

"How?… But…" She was flabbergasted. Both pokemon started to bark and squeak, each telling their own story at the same time. Kelsie didn't understand, but smiled down at them nonetheless. When she looked back up, James was laughing. "Don't you **ever** do that again!" She said, hitting his arm lightly.

He sobered up, a few minutes later, promising to take her out for lunch to apologize for scaring her. She added that it was actually her parents treat, as they were the ones who had given him his starting wad of cash. He shrugged, then noticed her bag. "Going somewhere?"

"Huh? Oh! Don't worry." She flushed, then ran upstairs to unpack and change.

They had intended to find a nice café or restaurant to have lunch in, however, they had gotten side-tracked by the remaining sights of Goldenrod city. They had spent the best part of half-an-hour, laughing at all the ridiculous names the Name-Rater had come up with for their pokemon. Ranging from food to the animals they looked like, Kelsie and James found every single one hilarious.

From the Name-Rater's house they visited the underground tunnel, spending plenty of time browsing the stalls. Kelsie couldn't stand the damp smell, however, and she thought that the creepy men, who were lurking in the darker areas of the underground, were highly suspicious. She was a lot happier when they had resurfaced, despite having given, a now very happy, flaaffy a haircut, which made oddish want one, and buying some pearls.

They were now sat on the rooftop of the department store, eating crisps and treats they had bought beforehand. Polly and oddish were tucking into a salad, sharing, being fed by Kelsie, as they had no arms. Rex, spearow and flaaffy were, happily, helping themselves to the remains of their trainer's picnic. Full, Kelsie and James slumped against each other, watching the clouds in the sky.

The view from that height was amazing. Using the binoculars, they could see for miles; the glistening sea, rooftops of houses, many other things. Kelsie had spent a fair bit of money; viewing the scenery from each one. She had also peered through the stall's merchandise and bought herself a few necessities at a cheaper price.

"Thank you for today," She said, leaning her head on James' shoulder. "It's been amazing. Well, after this morning's mishaps." She giggled, weakly.

"Why are you thanking me?" James pulled away, staring at her, slightly confused. "I didn't plan this."

"Kelsie shrugged. "I know, I just want to thank you." James chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Oh, and I never thanked you for my cyndaquil. So, thank you."

"You're welcome." They smiled at each other, unaware of gap between them getting smaller all the while.

Their lips were inches from each other's, when there was a sudden cry; "There you are!"

Both of them sharply turned their heads and spotted Kirralie standing in front of the stairwell, beaming. "I did it!" She cheered, producing a tiny ladybird-like badge, which neither could see due to the sun. "I beat Bugsy."


	34. The contest

It turned out that Kirralie knew Ilex forest so well that she was able to navigate her way through it, without stopping to battle, in short of a day.

Which explained why she had caught up with them so fast.

However, once she had discovered that neither James nor Kelsie had challenged Whitney yet, she didn't plan on sticking around. She did agree to spend the next day with them, though, and had decided to wait for them in Ecruteak, once she arrived there.

The three of them headed back down through the department store and back out onto the street. Kirralie hadn't managed to secure a room at the pokemon centre, but Nurse Joy had agreed to let her bunk with Kelsie for the night. The two girls headed up to the room, to drop off Kirralie's stuff, whilst James waited downstairs.

"So, what _have_ you been doing these past two days, if you haven't been preparing to challenge Whitney?" She asked, plonking her backpack down in the empty chair by the door and seating herself on the bed, rifling through Kelsie's belongings.

"Just sight-seeing."

"Oh, I've done that a million times. It's Kanto I haven't seen. I'm hoping to whiz through the gym battles here so that I can get to Kanto as soon as I can." Kirralie gabbled, picking up Kelsie's cyndaquil. "Cute toy."

"Erm… thanks." Kelsie had a hard time keeping up with her. Before she could even comment on Kirralie's travel plans, she was off again;

"'Course, you and James aren't from Johto, are you? So, I suppose, it's only natural you'd want to have a look around. Though, if you ever want to beat Whitney, you'd better start training. I'll take you both on later, if you want."

"Yeah, sure…"

"What's the deal with you and James anyway?" Kirralie half smirked, stopping herself from flicking through Kelsie's pokemon books and facing her. "A guy and a girl, travelling together alone…" She hinted.

"It's a long story." Kelsie sighed. "Our whole journey is a long story, but we're just friends."

"Oh, ok, he's hot." Kelsie said nothing.

* * *

The three of them spent the night going into detail about their previous adventures, what their main goals were and their desired, future team. It turned out that, once Kirralie had simmered down, she was pretty easy to get along with.

Kelsie had divulged all of the sights she had visited with her typhlosion, receiving 'oohs' and 'ahhs' in all the appropriate places. Even Kirralie kept quiet whilst Kelsie was talking. Until; "Your typhlosion must be reasonably strong then, huh? I mean, six years, wow." She actually sounded impressed. "The longest I've spent with any of my pokemon is, like, two years. I raised him from an egg. Is that why you decided to take the gym challenge? Because he was getting too tough to handle without the right gym badges?"

James glanced across at Kelsie. They were laying on the grass, enjoying the evening breeze, next to the waterside, out on route thirty-four. James was the closest to the water, skimming his hand across the surface whilst he listened to the girls talk. Kirralie was lounged beside him; having placed herself in the middle, leaving Kelsie on the end, next to the path.

Kirralie had noticed James look up and fixed her gaze, fully, on Kelsie. "What?"

"Actually, he was always rather tame with me. Never disobedient." Kelsie said, softly. "We were on our way to Kanto. There were a few sights I wanted to see there. Still is, come to think of it." She looked at neither of them. She had, suddenly, become very interested in a stray drowzee that was scratching its head in confusion.

Giving up on trying to regain her attention, Kirralie turned to James. "So, why is she in Johto then?"

"Perhaps you should tell her?" James suggested, Kelsie blinked at him. He smiled, kindly, at her.

Not bothering to waste time on specifics; Kelsie explained. Boat capsized, ended up washed ashore, separated, became a trainer in order to find her pokemon. Starting with Johto.

Once finished, the three of them sat in silence. Kirralie was at a loss of what to say. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, eventually.

"If you're wondering," James piped up. "I'm the knight in shining armour who jumped at the chance to help her." He grinned his usual cheeky grin.

Kelsie scoffed. "Yeah right! You hated me!"

"I did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"Well, I don't now!" At least the quarrelling eased the awkward tension that had been hovering in the air.

"Why did you tag along then?" Kirralie asked, feeling left out.

"I've always wanted to be a trainer, simple as." James looked disinterested in this topic of conversation, but Kirralie pressed on, asking questions. James answered them, half-heartedly, telling her about his family's farm and about how he had gotten Rex and spearow. Whilst they were talking, Kelsie took out her egg, giving herself something to do, or, at least look, at. She didn't particularly feel like watching Kirralie try to flirt with James whist he lay there, oblivious. Her egg felt heavier, perhaps it was close to hatching.

"So, what's your story?" James managed to ask, eventually, sensing that Kelsie was bored. She looked round and gave him a small smile to show her thanks.

"It's a long story." Kirralie explained all about how she and her sister helped out their parents; breeding a variety of pokemon, catching specified ones if asked to, and so on. She had started helping out when she was nine, not too bothered that she was expected to help out for, pretty much, the rest of her life.

"Sounds like my story." James joked. He apologized for interrupting and Kirralie carried on.

About a year ago, bored with her life, she had planned on becoming a pokemon trainer; travelling alongside her boyfriend. She had been given, the year before, her shiny pichu, in egg form, and her boyfriend had helped her capture her bellsprout. They had planned on setting off the week after, until his parents had uprooted themselves, and her boyfriend, to a different country.

"So, our plans were disrupted." She explained. "I spent most of my time wallowing and my parents took advantage of that; busying me with tasks that involved me catching pokemon to breed. They thought it would keep my mind off of him and becoming a trainer." But it hadn't. Kirralie had taken to another egg, which hatched recently, revealing her togepi, and her excitement and willingness was back. She had been planning it, behind her parent's backs, before nearly having her pokemon stolen.

After that, she wanted to become a trainer for a very different reason. She wanted to find all of the missing pokemon and stop the poachers in their tracks. "Hence why I want to get to Kanto as soon as." She said.

"They were in Johto today." James scowled, his face turning sour.

"Really?"

"Well… Their gengar was." Kelsie explained what had happened that morning. Kirralie's eyes grew wide with interest. James remained scowling.

"That's awful!" She cried. "Do you think the day-care couple are involved? We should stake them out."

"Of course they're involved!" James snorted. "Why else wouldn't the old bat tell me which pokemon was stolen?" They spent the rest of the evening discussing the day-care centre's involvement in the pokenapping crimes. James and Kirralie were convinced they were the brains behind the whole operation, whilst Kelsie was doubtful that they were even involved at all.

"Oh!" James suddenly cried, when the three of them were walking back to the pokemon centre. "I forgot to ask- what happened between you and your boyfriend? Are you single now?" He asked, something which he would come to regret for the rest of his life, as Kirralie seemed to take his innocent question completely in the wrong context.

* * *

True to her word, Kirralie stuck around the next day. She rallied Kelsie and James up for a day of training, roping in some random trainers who were hanging around the same route as them.

"Look at it as a contest." She told them, jotting down names on a pieces of paper. "Those who are pulled out of the bag will face each other. The winners will be put back in and drawn out again. It's fairly simple. I'll face the last one remaining." Kelsie and James pulled a face at each other, groaning, but some other the other trainers seemed to get quite excited.

"Don't worry." Kirralie lowered her voice, sidling over to them. "I'll face you both later too. Just like I said I would yesterday." She winked at James and skipped off to announce who was facing who.

"Someone's got an admirer." Kelsie giggled, but only slightly.

James went red, glancing at Kirralie. She was drawing out the first two names. "Shut up." He muttered.

The majority of the trainers had only one or two pokemon. Kelsie amongst them. She was paired against someone named Kim. Her only pokemon was a vulpix, no match against Polly. She dodged her quick attacks, though only just on a few occasions, and countered the vulpix's fire attacks with her water ones. In a matter of minutes, Kelsie had gone through to the next 'round'.

James' battle was slightly harder. His opponent's diglett; a half-buried, small, brown pokemon, with a distinguishing pink nose, kept using magnitude, which was super effective against two of James' pokemon. Spearow managed to avoid them, by keeping aloft, but Rex was knocked out after a few hits.

"Spearow, peck!" Diglett managed to avoid the attack by disappearing underground. Spearow landed, looking around, confused. Before he could do much else, there was a rumble and diglett re-appeared, bursting out of the ground, slamming into spearow, and knocking him across the path.

Oddish was the only one of James' pokemon left. Her absorb, which was her weakest move, worked wonders against the first diglett, and the second, but didn't do much against the opponent's third pokemon- zubat. It was a battle of energy-zapping for the first few minutes, until a sudden bite attack, followed swiftly by a confuse ray; which resulted in oddish attacking herself, unwillingly, caused oddish to be defeated too. James was out of the running.

"Only six of you left!" Kirralie announced, happily. She rummaged in the bag again, pulling out two slips of paper. Kelsie's next opponent was a man called Eric. He smiled, nervously, at her and released his first pokemon. A big, purple blob oozed along the ground, creeping Kelsie out. She sent out flaaffy and began the battle with a thunder wave, which missed.

She ended up with a badly poisoned flaaffy and a defeated poliwag, eliminating her too. She rushed them to the pokemon centre, where James was waiting. Kirralie wasn't impressed, she was hoping one of them would have won. "Looks like you both need more training." She told them, they agreed, glumly.


	35. A giggle of girls

Neither one of them wanted to challenge Kirralie first.

After the morning's performance, both were still feeling pretty embarrassed. Kirralie had had a spectacular battle against Eric and his two grimers. Her togepi's metronome move was very useful, randomly choosing offensive moves that dealt great damage to the poisonous blobs. Her pichu was a great aid too, using his dizzy punch to confuse Eric's remaining grimer.

After that battle, both Kelsie and James were understandably nervous.

"Oh come on." Kirralie urged, impatiently. "It marks a great end to a brilliant day."

"For you." James moaned.

"And the pokemon." Kirralie glanced at Rex, a smile on her face. "They're getting kind of chubby, turning into a slobs, like their trainer."

"No they're not! And I am not a slob!"

"Fine!" Kelsie shouted, fed up with the bickering. "I'll go first, just shut up, the pair of you." James gave her an odd look; she never acted like this when he argued with her. Kelsie selected a pokeball, her annoyance distracted her from remembering which one, and out came Polly. Unfortunately, she wasn't Kelsie's first choice, as Kirralie had a bellsprout, and a pichu. Kirralie smirked, thinking this too.

"Looks like you're up pichu." He leapt forward, the red pouches on his, dark yellow, cheeks crackling with electricity, much like flaaffy's wool did. His black-tipped, pointy ears twitched eagerly, as did his tiny, lightning-bolt tail. Polly danced happily.

Kirralie was kind enough to let Kelsie go first. She called for Polly to use doubleslap, and Polly swung her tail at her opponent. Pichu darted out of the way, but wasn't quick enough to avoid Polly's frantic wagging. He rolled backwards, landing at Kirralie's feet, and bounced back up, looking slightly worn.

"Thundershock!"

"Dodge it Polly!" There was no use in ordering her to attack; water would make things worse, doubleslap involved Polly making contact and being put in harm's way and hypnosis would mean that Polly would have to keep still, meaning that the thundershock could strike her as she was putting the pichu to sleep.

Polly rolled to the side, just avoiding the bolt of electricity which hit the pavement where she was just stood. Pichu, released another one, it also missed. He was panting by the time he released his third, evidently wearing out. "Pii-" It cried, flopping down onto its rear. "-chu."

Kirralie returned him, looking disappointed. Bellsprout took his place and Kirralie yelled out; "Vine whip, now!" before Kelsie could even open her mouth. Two long vines produced from under bellsprout's leaves and whipped Polly in the face. She slammed into the ground, crying out, and struggled to get up. "Yay! I won one!"

Kelsie was down to her last pokemon. One that wasn't very effective against grass types. Flaaffy jittered about, energetically, causing bellsprout to sway as she tried to keep up. "Nice on flaaffy!" Kelsie cheered. "Just keep that up and we'll win in no time." Kirralie growled. She seemed to take her battles, no matter who she was against, exceedingly seriously.

The gloves were off, both trainers issued commands at the same time; flaaffy-thunder wave, bellsprout- poison powder. The glittery dust sailed through the air, looking inescapable. Flaaffy released her electrical energy, striking her target, just as the dust passed her. Amazingly, none hit.

Bellsprout shuddered, her movements restricted. The vines came out again, just as flaaffy slammed her body into the plant's. Bellsprout staggered back, stumbling, and fell on to her back, unable to get up. Her eyes remained staring at the sheep, the vines slithering across the floor. However, bellsprout had no strength to lift them, let alone use them to strike flaaffy's body.

"Good luck." Kelsie patted James' shoulder, grinning. Her voice was light, almost like she was singing in joy.

"Cheers." James sighed. Kirralie had a face like a dog chewing a wasp. "You've made things harder for me."

"Sorry."

Being as James had three pokemon, he could only use two. His choices were Rex and oddish. Kirralie chose togepi next, being as Rex had an advantage against her hoppip. She had lost all of her confidence, mainly because she was left with her weakest two pokemon. Partly because she had wanted to impress James.

Choosing tactically, James chose oddish. She was only just taller- due to the shoots growing out of her head- than the egg-encased pokemon. Only its head was free, shaped with five spikes. Stubby arms and legs poked through the white shell, which was patterned with blue and red shapes.

"Priiiii!" She cried, waving her arms about. They glowed white and, suddenly, togepi self-destructed, knocking herself out, but only knocking oddish back. Not the outcome Kirralie wanted. Her frustration flared up and a very audible '_grrrrrr!_' escaped her lips.

Hoppip and oddish took to each other right away. They happily smiled at each other and started talking, instead of battling. Until Kirralie stomped her foot. Both pokemon seemed to realize that they were supposed to be battling.

James laughed, mostly at Kirralie's face. A laugh that hastily turned into a cough with one look from the girl opposite. Oddish's absorb wouldn't do much damage against the other grass type, so James was left with stun spore. Kirralie opted for tackle and the little tomato-like plant rammed into oddish, pushing her over.

"Dish!" She jumped back up and released the dust particles into the air. Hoppip rammed into her again, braving the dust, and this time oddish stayed down.

"Ha!" Kirralie jeered, despite knowing she was done for. Rex produced his fiery embers and hoppip was down too.

* * *

Kirralie left with a rather sour mood, but she promised them she would meet them in Ecruteak, if she was still around by the time they had caught up. Kelsie worried about her safety, leaving this late at night, but after a lot of reassurance, Kirralie disappeared into the distance, Kelsie and James waving after her.

"She sure was shocked when we beat her!" James crowed, a wicked grin on his face. "Teach her for thinking we were weak!" He hugged his pokemon, oddish squealed in delight, but Rex and spearow wriggled uncomfortably. Kelsie giggled at the strange sight.

James decided he wanted to challenge Whitney, the next day. He entered the gym and found it packed. Groups of giggling girls were standing in clumps, absolutely everywhere. "Eurgh, it's a girls gym."

Kelsie, who had gone along for moral support, not to challenge Whitney herself, as she didn't feel prepared enough, dug James in the ribs, shushing him. It didn't matter anyway, the shrieks of laughter were too high-pitched for anyone to hear his words.

"Are they challengers or what?" James asked, nervously approaching the first group he reached and tapping the closest girl on the shoulder. She turned, blushing, and giggled again at the sight of James.

"Oh, a boy." That set the rest of them off. James rolled his eyes, waiting for them to cool down. "What do you want?"

"Are you…?"

"What are you doing here?" His question was cut short by some short, ditzy woman, with vivid pink hair and a lot of skimpy clothes. She acted like a child, even pouting at the sight of James. "This is a girls only party!"

"A party?" James spluttered, Whitney huffed. "In a gym?"

"It's my gym and I can do what I want!" Her lower lip was wobbling, a tantrum was about to be thrown. James scarpered, pulling Kelsie outside with him. "Challenge me soon, 'kay?" Whitney called after him, waving.

* * *

_A/N- Sorry it's short and it took a while to update, I had nothing planned and I've been pretty busy. So busy, in fact, that I'm exhausted : ( early night for me :P_

_Anyway, I promise I'll have the next chapter up soon, I know what's going to happen in that one. And if you're missing Scott, he'll appear soon. _

_I would also like to let you all know I'm in the process of writing a new pokemon story, but I promise it won't distract my attention from this one- I'm not uploading it till this one is finished. I've written the first chapter so far and if any of you are interested in reading, I'll email it to you, or upload the first chapter or something. Otherwise, you can just wait :P_

_So anyway…. Enjoy, thank you for reading and reviewing (if you do). _

_Define-originality. (Almost wrote my real name :S) lol._


	36. The Bugcatching Contest

_**The Bug-catching Contest. **_

_Open to all on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, every half-hour, in the National Park._

_Rules:_

_*Only one pokemon per participant allowed_

_*Only one entry per participant allowed. If more than one pokemon is caught, the participant must chose which one to submit. The rest will be released, but pokedex data will appear as 'caught'._

_*Participants are only allowed thirty minutes and thirty park balls to capture a bug. Once time or balls have run out, participants must proceed to the judging area._

_Once thirty minutes is up, the judges will choose a third, second and first place from the bugs they receive. Bugs are judged on size, rarity and strength. Participants may receive a berry as a consolation prize, gold berry for third place, everstone for second and sunstone for first._

_Good luck!_

"What do you think? An excellent chance for me to catch a butterfree!" Kelsie grinned, scanning the new poster which had appeared on the pokemon centre's bulletin board that morning.

James pulled a face; he hated bugs. "Thought you wanted a caterpie?"

"For a butterfree."

"Oh." He guessed it made some sense; caterpies were weak and, he suppressed a shiver, icky. "Might be a bit of extra training, I suppose. And a bug might freak out that stupid Whitney." Last night was still fresh in his mind; the humiliation, the bipolar personality of the girly gym leader chucking him out, because he was a boy. Sexist, that's what it was. Serve her right to get freaked out by a bug.

"Hello… Earth to Jimmy!" Kelsie was waving her hand in front of James' blank face. An evil-looking grin seemed to creep on his face whilst his mind was elsewhere. "If you don't answer me I'll call up Kirralie and tell her you like her…"

No answer.

"Right." Kelsie took out her mobile and was halfway through dialling, when James started to blink. He stared at her, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Nice of you to pay earth a visit." She smirked, holding the mobile to her ear. "Hello… Kirralie?"

"What are you doing?" James hissed, trying to grab the phone. Kelsie moved out of the way, her smirk still in place.

"James wanted me to let you know that he lurves you." She giggled, James' eyes grew wide in horror. She put the phone back into her pocket. "She said she's coming back to get you."

"You're lying!" He snatched the phone out of her pocket and checked the call history. Kelsie hadn't called anyone since last night. "You…"

"Pay attention next time." She grabbed her phone back and stalked out of the centre, still laughing, but also relieved.

James jogged after her, he knew she was headed to the National Park. Bugs were not his thing, but on the bright side- he could catch a scyther. He caught up to her on route thirty-five, she was staring at her pokeballs; trying to decide which one to use, muttering the pros and cons under her breath.

For James, the choice was simple. He had two pokemon that were super-effective against bugs, and one who had just recently, last night to be precise, learnt sleep and poison powder to go with her stun spore. They seemed like the ideal moves for catching a pokemon. Oddish appeared in front of him, as he threw the pokeball in the air, tumbling out on to the dirt path. She hadn't exactly perfected the acrobatics just yet.

She squeaked, happily as always, and shook her shoots; trying to adjust her bow, which had become lopsided during her tumble. Kelsie laughed and helped her, acknowledging James for the first time in the few minutes he had walked with her. "Your weakest pokemon? You're either super confident or dead cocky."

"I have faith in my pokemon." He replied. "Who are you choosing?"

The choice wasn't so simple for Kelsie. One of her pokemon wasn't so good against bug types, unless they had wings. She would be a good choice for Kelsie's desired butterfree, however.

The other only really knew water moves and they definitely weren't so good against bugs. Unless they were deathly afraid of water, then they would probably knock themselves out by running into a tree in a panic. If she was lucky.

"I would say flaaffy, but I haven't used Polly that much."

"You could always chuck your egg at the pokemon. A hit in the face with that chunky thing would surely knock them out." James joked, but Kelsie seemed to consider it. If it wasn't for the fact that a baby pokemon was forming inside, she may have very well gone for it.

They had reached the entrance. There was still five minutes left till the next contest, so Kelsie still had some time to choose. A man in a green uniform, complete with a matching hat, was walking around with a clipboard, taking down contestant's names and chosen pokemon. Their other pokeballs were taken from them, labelled, and placed in a safety deposit box. The park-keepers were going to all measures to ensure that no-one's pokemon were stolen whilst in their possession. Unlike the day-care centre.

"Name?" Another keeper had approached them, wearing a matching uniform and carrying another clipboard.

"James."

"Full name." The park-keeper glanced up from writing. He looked stern.

"James Rose."

"Pokemon?"

"Oddish."

He took down James' details and pulled out a sheet of sticky labels. "Write you _full_ name on them, stick 'em on your pokeballs and put your pokeballs in there." He pointed at the box on the floor, then handed James a pen. "Your I.d will be checked on your way out." He turned to Kelsie. "Name?"

Kelsie, eventually, had chosen flaaffy, promising Polly she would choose her next time. A sticky label was stuck to jumper; James had gone a little crazy with his stickers. '_James' pokeball_'. It said. The park-keeper seemed to think this was a good idea and, once all were checked, sticky labels were stuck on participants and pokemon alike.

"Alright Kelsie, James' pokeball?" James grinned. She stuck her tongue out. Flaaffy picked at her label, angrily. Kelsie helped her remove it and then placed it on her bow so it wouldn't annoy her. "So, how are we going to do this?"

The other participants had already rushed off. Many had fire pokemon and they were already starting to scorch the thick, lengthy grass. Others had nets that they were swinging wildly, narrowly missing other people and their pokemon. It was madness.

"We're never going to find anything in this." Kelsie gestured to the swarm of pokemon and people alike. Fights had already started; who had spotted which bug first, whose park ball had caught what, so on. "I think, being as we're looking for separate things, we should split up. Might be easier."

"You're right." James nodded in agreement, the look on his face uncertain. What had he just agreed to? "Be careful out there." Kelsie assured him she would. "See you in half an hour then. Good luck."

"It's more like twenty-seven minutes now." She chuckled, but wished him luck also and set off in one direction. James took the other.

* * *

Kelsie's plan was simple. Scan the trees for a butterfree. If that failed, then the last five minutes would be spent looking for a caterpie. After all, she wasn't there to win, just so she could catch a butterfree. She set a timer on her pokegear and pulled out her pokedex to show flaaffy what she was looking for.

Park-keepers were wandering about, probably to keep an eye on the scuffles, protect the Park's pokemon, and to make sure participants stuck to the rules. Everyone's bags had been confiscated when their were checked, so if their pokemon were poisoned, paralyzed or had fainted, they were advised to head to the safety zone, also known as the judging area, to heal their pokemon. It also meant they were disqualified from the contest and any pokemon they had caught before then would be submitted, usual rules applied.

Kelsie hoped that flaaffy would be ok. She wasn't exactly hoping to battle many bugs, her plan was to run from them, if possible. She also hoped that the other participants left her alone. Most seemed extremely competitive; in it to win it.

The skies and trees were empty; free of most bugs. A few weedle were squirming their way up tree trunks and a few beedrill buzzed about, before getting zapped by a red light and pulled into the spherical containers. Some managed to escape; their buzzing louder and angrier than before, swooping down towards the nearest target to take their anger out on. Others stayed put; caught.

Kelsie sighed, watching several competitors stalk their prey. It seemed that James had some stiff competition; a lot of net-armed partakers were going after the praying mantis James so desired.

There was a clicking noise. Kelsie spun round and came face to face with an oversized, brown, stag beetle. It was grinding its spiked horns together, menacingly, its teeth snapping. "Flaaffy," Kelsie hissed, stepping backwards. "Help me!" Flaaffy steeped forward, crying out, static building.

"Hey!" Some pipsqueak shouted, running forward, net flailing behind him. His pokemon- a rattata- streaked through the grass beside him. "That pokemon's mine!"

"Take it!" Kelsie squeaked, seizing her opportunity to escape whilst the pinsir turned to its new target. "Jeez… I thought this was going to be fun."

* * *

On the other side of the park, James was sat on a bench, trying to explain to oddish which pokemon he was after. She wasn't pay much attention; the riled pokemon both fascinated and scared her and she was watching the action with a strange look on her face.

James had to keep pulling her back, he feared she would get lost in the grass, especially as her shoots blended in so well. It was so long, even her distinguishable bow would be hidden from sight. The fact that the competitors pokemon, as well as the wild National Park ones, were acting like they were crazy, didn't help matters either.

"Oddish, stop it!" He cried in exasperation. "I want a scyther." He pointed to the picture, oddish looked up at him and nodded. "That's what we're looking for, we're not here to join in with the chaos. Ok?"

Oddish squeaked. James took that as an agreement and scooped his pokemon up. She settled on his shoulder, but ended up in his arms, due to the number of times she almost fell off.

Twenty minutes passed; James only had about two minutes left. Many participants had either given up, been disqualified, ran out of balls, or had decided to keep the pokemon they had caught, decidedly happy with their catch. Only five or six others were still wandering around, Kelsie amongst them. James was surprised to see she was preening the grass, instead of looking in the trees.

"No luck?" He asked, striding over to her.

"No." She sounded saddened. "I think those maniacs took most of the pokemon with them." She joked.

"Butterfrees are usually in the trees, you do know that right.?"

He was met with a sigh. "I'm not an idiot…"

"I know, I was just…"

"… I've given up wasting my time for them. Caterpies are a lot more common." James understood and offered to help her look, giving up all hope of finding a scyther. Part of him had already known it was going to be a waste of time anyway.

He hadn't be searching long, but it was long enough to see a purple butterfly fly onto a nearby branch. He nudged Kelsie and pointed, she almost cried out in happiness. However, she managed to contain herself, before she scared it away. Flaaffy turned to her trainer, awaiting her instructions, but none came. Kelsie's eagerness forced her to throw a park ball, and it sailed through the air, hitting the branch. It disappeared, with the butterfree, into the thicket of trees.

"What the hell was that?" James laughed, incredulous. Kelsie blushed, shrugging. She ran over to the trees and weaved her way through to where her park ball had landed. The butterfree wasn't in sight and the park ball's button, used to maximise, minimize, release or return, was glowing red, indicating a capture.

"Oh, my, god."

"You caught it? Pfft, fluke."

"I caught a butterfree!"

"Biing-bong!" The tannoy rang out, alerting them of the end of the contest. "Please can the remaining participants make their way to the judging area? Your time is up." They emerged from the trees and headed to the only other building in the Park.

"Pokemon please." The park-keeper from earlier held out his hands, only one of them was filled. "Take a seat while the judges decide." They headed over to Nurse Joy first, to heal their pokemon. They weren't hurt, just tired.

"Alrighty…" An elder-looking park-keeper beamed at them all, clearing his throat for everyone's attention. Many faces turned to look at him. "We have reached a decision." The noise, which had died down at the start of the announcement, now ceased. A few of the participants, who carried nets, crossed their fingers or held their breath. Kelsie noticed one or two of them go purple.

"In third place, is Kelsie Knight…" Faces turned towards the back, to look at the person who had won third place. Kelsie had gasped, audibly, rising to her feet. Her sticky label was peeling off her clothes, the '_James' pokeball_' one more visible. "Congratulations, here is your prize." She was handed a gold berry, as well as the park ball containing her pokemon. The butterfree she had always wanted, ever since Ilex forest anyway. At least, she thought it was a butterfree.

"A round of applause for Kelsie Knight and her venonat please." There was a smatter of applause, Kelsie looked at James, baffled.

Venonat?


	37. Completing the jigsaw

After days of discussion, Scott and Lysander hadn't come up with a solution. In fact, Vasseur had been working them so hard, they barely had time to come up with any means of communication, let alone effective ones. Any conversation they had revolved around keeping Vasseur off their backs and which pokemon they had to sacrifice.

Unfortunately, Vasseur had forced them to start operating and experimenting. He had handed them, one morning, an ursaring for them to get their 'plans' started. He explained that he wanted them to speed up their process, as he was bored of sitting around, waiting for them to take action. Therefore, he was taking the action for them. Well, at least starting it.

He had come up with another list; a design, almost, describing how he wanted his pokemon to be, in a lot more detail than before. He wanted sturdy wings, a monstrous body with incredible strength, a psychic's brain, and a lot more. Powerful characteristics. Lysander had been forced to edit Vasseur's design with detailed notes, instructing him and Scott of how they would make this monstrosity.

So far, the ursaring lay, half dead, on the operating table in their lab. Lysander had left an unwilling Scott to operate, eventhough he was supposed to be the scientist; the experimental one. The animosity between the two grew, as Lysander spent more and more time with the pokemon, coming up with his own separate escape plan, whilst Scott was left to deal with Vasseur and his demands.

Fed up with blood on his hands- metaphorically and literally- Scott took a break, thinking for the first time in days. Lysander was being no help at all, with Vasseur's creation and with Scott's plan. Every time he asked him what he had been up to in his absence, Lysander would just shrug and ignore him. There were plenty of times when Scott reverted back to his old thoughts of Lysander being sent to spy on him and was keeping guard over the pokemon so that he couldn't communicate with them or help them escape, being as there were no security cameras in the storage room to do that job instead.

What Scott needed was a way to contact the 'outside world', enlist outside help to lead the escaped pokemon to safety. That would be the final piece, of his plan's jigsaw, slotted into place. Right now, it was missing. He knew exactly who to ask, he just didn't know how. The phone lines were tapped, so that was completely out, his letters would probably be checked, especially as Vasseur's cameras would see him writing them. He would probably send someone to follow Scott out, when he was leaving to post them…

* * *

Scott crept out of his office, which also doubled as his sleeping quarters, as well as Lysander's, into the empty hall. It was very quiet at this hour; naturally, almost everyone was sleeping, the exceptions were a few scientists or doctors finishing up some last minute preparations and operations, a security guard guarding the storage room, hall and entrance, and, most probably sitting in his office, watching the many sights that his cameras constantly recorded; Vasseur.

Scott was taken aback by the lax of security; he had been expecting at least three guards- one for the storage room, one patrolling the halls and one securing the entrance doors. However, he tried not to let it faze him, and he slunk forward, towards the storage room.

The guard was half asleep, but he lazily held an arm out to stop Scott progressing. "No entry, I'm afraid." He yawned, rubbing his eyes. "What do you want anyway?"

"I've just had a brainwave, something I need to put into action, before I forget tomorrow." Scott elaborated on the truth, the guard didn't seem to pay much attention anyway. He was too busy battling to keep his eyes open. "Listen, why don't you go to bed? My lab is just through the storage room, I can make sure no-one enters."

He couldn't believe how easy it was to persuade him. The security guard nodded, stifling another yawn, and offered Scott his keys. He waved them away; he had his own. "Make sure no-one enters or exits the building." He said, Scott nodded and the guard dragged himself off to his room.

Once inside the storage room, Scott turned the lights on and locked the double doors behind him. His search in his lab would have to be quick; if Vasseur spotted him rifling for a map and some pliers, he was bound to get suspicious. It didn't take him long to locate the pliers in the dark, they had been used to pry open the ursaring's cage, a few days before. The map proved harder to find, considering Scott didn't dare turn on the light. The cameras were, probably, designed to see in the dark anyway, but Scott didn't want to provide them with anymore ammunition than necessary.

Eventually, he made his way back into the storage room, hiding himself away in the other room. He sat himself on the floor, pulled out an envelope, a notepad and a pen, and began scribbling away; writing a letter to Liana.

He, roughly, described his situation, underlining the fact that he was in trouble and couldn't speak freely, which was why he was contacting her this way, in order to pass on the message to her son and Kelsie. He accentuated the importance of his second letter, which would be attached with the first, reaching its recipients and apologised for any worry he may have caused her whilst reading this letter. He then wrote another, more detailed this time, for Kelsie and James, fully explaining everything, pleading for their help and issuing them ways for them to communicate with him, once they were in Fuchsia. He also added a separate note, just for Kelsie, telling her that her beloved pokemon was with him; safe, for now. He slid the letters into the envelope, addressed it with Liana's name and address and exited the room to the main storage to search for a suitable flying type. Before doing so, however, he glanced up at the typhlosion who had been watching him and whispered one word; 'Soon'.

He was looking for a pokemon that was small enough to fit in his lab coat pocket, without rising suspicion from anyone who spotted him; on camera or otherwise. He had a few problems though. Ever since Vasseur had marched down to his lab and forced him to dance to the same sadistic tune, the pokemon, which Scott had once managed to convince he was on their side, lost all trust they had gained for him. They saw him as a traitor; one of those nasty evildoers who had snatched them from the wild or their loved ones and used them to fulfil their cruel schemes, and refused to co-operate with such a monster. All but one pokemon. Typhlosion was somehow convinced that, as Scott knew his owner, he would be the one help him get back to her.

It was Lysander the rest trusted, not Scott.

One of the cages on the topmost shelf, at the front, contained a pidgey. Scott reached up and lowered the cage to the floor. "Before I let you out," He said, looking solely into the pokemon's eyes, willing for it to trust him. "I need your co-operation." The pidgey did nor said nothing, except blink. Scott showed it the envelope. "I need you to deliver this letter to someone, it's important, especially if you all want to be rescued." The pidgey cocked its head to the side. "I'll explain everything outside, as long as you co-operate." Maybe the pokemon believed him, or maybe it was just desperate to escape, either way, the pidgey nodded. Scott prized open the cage and then slid the pliers either side of the tag that was attached to the pidgey's leg.

Once free of the tag, the pidgey allowed Scott to hide her in his inside pocket and he carried her outside, turning the lights off and locking the storage room behind him. No-one seemed to be around, allowing him to slip outside of the building without being questioned.

The pidgey sat, patiently, on his knee whilst he explained. He pointed to an area on his map and told the pidgey that there was a farm there. That was her destination. He described, as he had no picture, what Liana looked like and he reminded the pidgey how important this was. All the other captive pokemon relied on her to escape. She cooed softly and dipped her head, showing her understanding. Scott thanked her and wished her luck, urging her to be as quick as she could, but careful too.

She took the envelope in her beak and spread her wings for the first time in months. It felt good to be free. She took off, disappearing quickly into the dark sky, which was lightening all the while. Scott gazed after her till she was a speck, and then headed back to bed to get a few hours sleep before he had to continue with his horrific work.

* * *

Vasseur watched his every movement from his office, a mistrustful look on his face. He had thought that Lysander would have been the one to watch, especially as he seemed to refuse to partake in helping Scott experiment on the ursaring. Lysander preferred to be the one who made annotations, to do the written work rather than the practical. As long as he didn't try to free the pokemon, he was no worry.

But now Scott was the one sneaking about like he had something to hide.

Vasseur rose from his chair and strode over to the elevator. He arrived at the ground floor quickly and hurried over to the entrance, to greet Scott as he arrived back inside. Judging by the look on his face, he had shocked him.

"E-evening Vasseur." Scott stuttered, the shock on his face slowly fading. Vasseur sneered at the sight.

"Worried about something?" He asked in his usual drawl that sent shivers down one's spine.

"N-no, you just made me jump. I didn't expect you to be awake at this hour."

"I could say the same thing to you."

"I had a brainwave." Scott told him, going with the same story he had told the guard. "Basically, I wanted to carry it out before tomorrow, just incase I forgot."

"Go on."

"It's nothing major, just an idea about which wings to use." Vasseur seemed to look convinced. He suggested Scott show him and he made to head to the lab, until Scott stopped him. "It didn't work. I just disposed of the dead pokemon." It was a good job Vasseur had been on his way down to greet Scott when Scott had released the pidgey, otherwise he would have spotted him on the security cameras which were situated on the walls outside.

But he hadn't and therefore he was, naively, convinced. At least, Scott believed he was.

The two men bade each other goodnight and Vasseur headed back up to his office. Once he had sat back down, he called for Dawson on his personal intercom. He came rushing into the office, about ten minutes later, half dressed and half asleep.

"You called, sir?" He mumbled, tightening the dressing gown, he was wearing, around him.

"Yes. From now on I would like either you or Alastair to pay close attention to our friend _doctor _Fletcher." Vasseur instructed. "I think he's up to something." Dawson nodded. "That is all." He nodded again and left, muttering darkly under his breath. Vasseur ignored him and stared at his plasma screen, wondering what Scott was up to.


	38. FuzzyWuzzy was a bear, Muzzy's a venonat

Venonat was, basically, a big ball of purple fluff. It reminded Kelsie of those pompom things she used to cover in glitter and stick those weird plastic eyes on, when she was in school. A purple pompom with huge red, plastic eyes, and those fuzzy, bendy straws sticking out of its head like antennae.

The only difference was that a venonat had pincers, hands and feet.

James was still in hysterics, even after they had left National Park and headed back to the pokemon centre. His laughter had increased once Kelsie had released her newest addition and he had caught sight of the fluffy truth. Now a hiccupping mess, James had tears in his eyes, still chuckling occasionally whilst the venonat blinked and Kelsie stared.

Being as it was nocturnal; the venonat, not particularly fazed at being hit by a stray park ball and sucked into the container to be chained to it forever, sat down on the floor and fell asleep. Kelsie had expected at least some reaction; curiosity, amusement, anger, anything, but it had remained blank, nonchalant. Maybe it was just slow.

Her pokedex had told her it was male and level sixteen. It only knew one decent move. Powder-puff, a name she had been considering, was out of the window as it seemed more appropriate for a female. As did fluffy, furball and fluff-bunny. Fuzzy seemed like a good choice; it was the only choice she had left.

"You can't call it that!" James cried, once Kelsie had voiced her ponderings. "That's mean."

"Why?"

"Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair…" James sang.

"What?""Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair!" James repeated, emphasizing the 'Fuzzy' part, as well as the 'no hair'. "Quite clearly, venonat has hair."

"I'm not calling it Fuzzy _Wuzzy_. Just Fuzzy."

"Still cruel."

Kelsie sighed; back to the drawing board then. The bundle of fur emitted little snores and, occasionally, his pincers clicked. He kind of reminded her of something else, a smaller version, who was the wrong colour and a different species…

"Muzzy." She said, realizing.

"Huh?"

"Kelsie sighed again, but impatiently this time. This was going to be a long story, difficult to explain. Even then, James, most probably, still wouldn't understand. "When I was little, in school, we were made to watch this video to help us learn Italian. It was called Muzzy in Gondoland, or something like that." James remained confused. "Basically there's a bunch of animals pretending to be people- a king, queen and princess, to be precise- and Muzzy is a big green alien thing who helps them do something or other, I can't remember the plot. What I'm getting at is venonat looks like the big green alien, but is small and purple. Therefore, I'm calling him Muzzy."

James blinked at her, trying to take in her jumbled information. He had never watched this Muzzy thing, so had no idea what she was talking about, but he seemed to get the gist of her explanation. Muzzy certainly was a better name than Fuzzy anyway. "Cool." He hiccupped, still struggling to get rid of them, and turned to the purple ball of fluff who was now named Muzzy. "Slight problem though, I don't think he's aware that you've caught him."

"That's what I was thinking." Kelsie chewed her lip, lost in thought. She knew nothing about venonats, this was the first time she had even come across one. It looked like she would have to do some research on them. She returned Muzzy and attached the ball to her belt. She would do the naming and greeting thing later, once he had awoken.

James wanted to challenge Whitney, but was apprehensive as to whether she would chuck him out again, being as it was approaching evening. Kelsie had been forced to investigate; she was female and therefore would be allowed to attend any party Whitney threw and would be able to let James know if he would have to wait till morning to challenge her.

"Perhaps you should dress up?" He said, eyeing her up and down. She wasn't particularly dressed like a tramp, but then she wasn't exactly dressed for a party either. Her hair was slightly messed up from traipsing and weaving through trees, her jeans were slightly scuffed. Her jumper was in good condition, though, just not the right attire for a party.

"Don't start." She warned. James gave her an innocent look. He probably would have pulled it off if he hadn't hiccupped. Kelsie gave him half a smile. "We don't even know if there is a party yet."

"But if there is… You saw how they were all dressed yesterday." His whining managed to force her upstairs and change into more reasonable clothing. And get her to brush her hair through and quickly wash. And add some make-up. She decided she may as well go the whole hog. "Thank you, I owe you."

"Lets just call it paying you back for buying me my plush toy." She grinned. James agreed.

"I'll wait outside, if you don't call me in ten minutes, I'm going." James seated himself on the floor, resting against the wall of the gym. Kelsie nodded and handed him her bag. Her phone and pokeballs remained with her. "Good luck." She waited for the doors to open and stepped inside.

Unlike last night, the gym was quiet. The jazzy music and loud chatter from the party had been replaced with silence. Well, until you approached the middle of the clefairy shaped maze that consisted of flower bushes and décor. Then you could hear Whitney humming to herself and two other girls talking.

Kelsie cleared her throat and all three turned to look at her, Whitney was in mid hum, some weird smile appearing on her face as she held the note. "Hi!" She beamed, giving a little wave. "Are you here for a battle?"

Kelsie looked around, the centre of the clefairy maze wasn't exactly built like a battle arena, like the other gyms had. The space was cramped. "Here?"

"No silly." Whitney giggled, pointing over Kelsie's shoulder. Kelsie turned to look at the space. It wasn't much bigger than the one she stood in now, talking to Whitney. "There."

"That still seems too small." Whitney ignored her comment and strode over to the clearing. "Actually, I'm not here to battle…" Whitney stopped walking and faced her, her bottom lip trembling. It looked like tears were forming in her eyes.

"Uh-oh." The other two girls glanced at each other. "You better battle her, once she starts crying there's no telling when she'll stop."

"Fine." Kelsie sighed, taking her phone out of her pocket to tell James. But Whitney stopped her before she could. Her enthusiasm was so overwhelming, she almost knocked Kelsie over, as she pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Oof."

"Battling always makes her happy." One of the blue-haired girls hissed. "It makes a nice change, there's a lot of things that can set her off." Kelsie shot her a puzzled look, but the girl didn't elaborate. It looked like James was right- Whitney was bipolar.

Kelsie sighed; she still felt pretty unprepared for her gym battle, but she didn't particularly want to deal with a seemingly grown woman throwing a wobbly. If battling her was the only way to keep her happy till James arrived, then so be it. The things she did for him.

However, her second attempt to call James was sabotaged too, again by Whitney. This time she had thrown her first pokeball out onto the make-shift battle arena and called out; "The battle has begun, phones away!" The other two girls nodded in agreement. Kelsie managed to ask them to go get her friend, who was waiting outside, before Whitney's bottom lip started wobbling again.

"Ok, ok! I'm ready!" Kelsie released her first pokemon- Polly- to battle the dancing clefairy, who was amusing itself by twirling round in circles. Kelsie mentally commented that it was just as ditzy as its trainer.

Clefairy stopped dancing at its trainers demands. Funnily enough, both trainers had ordered their pokemon to use the same move; doubleslap. They both bounded forward and Polly swished her tail towards clefairy's face. Being as her tail was longer that the clefairy's arms, she managed to stop the pink, chubby creature from attacking and allowed herself to attack first.

The clefairy stumbled back, growling under her breath. Whitney managed to stop biting her nails long enough to call out; "Metronome!". Clefairy jumped back, making some space between her and the poliwag, and then waved her index fingers side to side. There was a flash of blinding light, bright enough to blind Kelsie, and probably Whitney too, for a few seconds. There was a deafening crash and the light dimmed. After blinking a few times, Kelsie's eyes readjusted and she saw Polly lying on the floor, unconscious. The thunder move had knocked her clean out.

Whitney giggled as Kelsie returned her and then blushed. Kelsie looked around and realization dawned on her face as she spotted James. It seemed he had most girls fawning over him.

Flaaffy was Kelsie's next choice. Clefairy used metronome again, but her move was a pitiful bubble attack, strengthening flaaffy's electric, which she took advantage of, to zap clefairy to the floor. Whitney pouted and threw her last pokeball onto the floor with a huff. A familiar pink and black cow came into sight.

"Mooo…"

Whitney's eyes flashed with smugness; Kelsie's flaaffy was going down. "Rollout!" The miltank curled itself up into the form of a ball and rolled towards flaaffy, trailing a huge amount of dust behind it somehow.

The rolling miltank was so fast, Kelsie barely had time to blink, let alone call out any strategic moves. It slammed into the poor flaaffy with such a force, it sent her flying; forcing her to slam into the wall on the far side of the gym. Kelsie gave a strangled cry and leapt over the flower boundaries, hurrying to her pokemon. She returned the battered sheep and stood back up, a solemn look on her face.

"You win." She said.

"What? No!" James rushed over to her. "You still have another pokemon."

"Did you just see what happened to flaaffy? There's no way I'd risk that again! Besides, I've never used Muzzy before; I haven't bonded with him, I don't even know how strong he is!" It was a fair point to make, James couldn't deny that. "Nu-uh, no way."

"Ok." He agreed. Whitney was cheering, singing badly and jumping up and down. "Looks like it's down to me to take the spoiled brat down a peg." He grinned.

* * *

_Yeah… I hate Whitney. I made her bipolar :P Wait till she gets beaten…_

_On a different note- I researched that Muzzy thing, turns out it was made in 1986. Makes me feel old (*^^,*) Just to clarify; I wasn't in school then, I wasn't even born then, I went to primary school in the 90's. I'm not that old, only 20. But yeah, the story Kelsie told is true- I did watch it to learn Italian._

_Haha, a 20 year old liking pokemon :) _


	39. This is why you never challenge a child

James accompanied Kelsie and Whitney to the pokemon centre, where both girls had their pokemon healed. It was a marvel to think that it only took the healing machine a few minutes to revitalize pokemon back to fighting-fit health. Though more severe injuries needed slightly longer, and absolutely exhausted pokemon were advised to rest for a few hours, most were as energetic and eager to get going again, once their pokeballs had been scanned by the miracle machine.

Nurse Joy handed Whitney her clefairy's pokeball back, not two minutes later. Her pokemon was fine. She waited, with the other two, for Kelsie's to be retrieved and then led the way back to the gym.

"I don't normally do this," She said, talking almost normally, for once. "I usually shut up early to go shopping or throw a party." James and Kelsie remained silent, unsure of what they were supposed to say. "In fact, I rarely battle. I guess others class me as too strong." She giggled, giving Kelsie a swift glance. She blushed in response, but then smiled as James muttered something unintelligible. Whitney scowled at him. "I hate battling icky boys, if I had my way, I wouldn't battle them at all!"

"Ignore her." Kelsie hissed, seeing James clench his fist. Whitney's continuous change in moods was aggravating him greatly.

Neither one bothered with chit-chat; they released their first pokemon to get on with things. Both wanted the battle to finish quickly as they couldn't stand the other's company. Whitney's dancing clefairy was back, James hoped it didn't start singing. He released spearow; he hadn't been used in a while.

Doubleslap was missed; spearow took off into the air and glided over the pink creature's head. It puffed out its cheeks and huffed, as did the trainer. James noticed their parallel attitudes and stifled a laugh. He snuck a glance at Kelsie; who was standing with the other two girls, grinning too. Perhaps clefairy had been with its owner far too long, or perhaps Whitney had specifically searched for a pokemon who mirrored her personality, either way, it seemed clefairy was bipolar too.

"Use metronome!" Clefairy danced on the spot as she wiggled her fingers. Sparkly dust fell through the air from nowhere. _Ironic, _James thought. _Fairy dust._

The dust caused spearow to crash to the floor, asleep. James didn't want to switch him out just yet. He yelled at spearow to wake up, but his shouts didn't penetrate. Clefairy seized the opportunity to resume her slapping. Every strike forced the poor bird to skid, backwards, across the polished floor.

"Spearow! Wake up!"

Slap!

"Roww?" One black eye opened and blinked, staring at the pokemon who was panting in front of it. Before spearow could pull himself up, he was engulfed in a blinding light. Whitney called her clefairy back, giggling gleefully. Evolution excited her, like shiny things and winning.

Another, more powerful, caw echoed around the gym as the former spearow grew in size. The light dimmed; revealing a vulture-like bird, with a huge wing-span. Although still quite small, height-wise, though two-feet taller than spearow, once the wings were expanded fully that was all anyone would ever focus on. And that beak… Ouch.

Clefairy stepped back, glancing over her shoulder at her trainer. Whitney looked equally scared, her fingers back in her mouth. James' fearow was certainly living up to his new name, looming over its, no longer taller, opponent.

"'Bout time!" James heard Kelsie laugh from the side. He grinned too.

"You're going down bitch."

Fearow, at his trainer's command, took off, his enormous wings creating a slight breeze as they flapped only once. He stretched out his talons and got ready to pick up the clefairy. It squealed, deafeningly, as it sailed through the air, wriggling. Whitney's cries were a mixture of attacks, angered swearing at James and expressions of worry. If her clefairy kept on squirming, she was going to plummet down to the wooden floor with an almighty crash.

Perhaps it was the height, or maybe it was because her trainer was gabbling too much for her to understand the important parts aimed at her, clefairy seemed not to pay attention, and moments later, she was splayed, in a heap, on the floor. Unconscious.

Whitney did nothing for a short while. Her mouth was open, her arms limp at her sides. Her eyes were still wide in fear. The two blue-haired girls glanced at one another, knowing what was about to come. "You…" Her voice trembled with emotion. Not the kind of emotion James had expected. "You cheated!"

"Excuse me?"

"You cheated!" She repeated, screeching once again. Kelsie had to cover her ears. James stared at her, shocked. He had expected her to be angry, perhaps more upset than angry, but still. He had never expected her to make some absurd accusation though. "You can't evolve your pokemon in the middle of a match! That isn't fair!" She wailed.

James felt anger surge through him too. How dare she make up some new, silly rules now? Just because she couldn't handle a loss. One of the girls ran out to comfort her, as tears leaked from her eyes and she yelled even more stupid accusations.

It took no time at all to calm her down. All she needed was for someone to remind her that she still had another pokemon. She wiped her eyes, snivelling, and smiled at James, apologetically. "Sorry…"

James said nothing, biting his tongue. He glared, however, and Whitney blinked at him, seemingly baffled. She looked quite offended. Miltank was thrown onto the scene and James returned fearow, much to everyone's surprise. He had some tactics up his sleeve.

Oddish appeared in a flash, her happy attitude brightening up the atmosphere. Miltank snorted, staring down at her pipsqueak opponent, her facial expression clear; '_I can take this shrimp_'.

"Sleep powder!"

"Rollout!" James had been expecting the speedy attack and quickly instructed oddish to weave her way around the make-shift arena. He hoped that sharp turns and rapid changes in direction would slow down the rollout attack.

It was working; miltank would head off in one direction and force herself to slow down in order to turn. It took her some time to speed back up, and by the time she had, she then needed to stop again, as oddish would dive to the side and run , releasing spores that caused others to sleep. Miltank managed to thunder through most of them, but, by a lucky chance, one veil of dust took effect on the chunky cow.

She uncurled and fell forwards, falling asleep. James smirked at Whitney's reaction. She stomped her feet furiously, yelling at her pokemon to awaken. "Get up! Attack! Evolve! Awake! DO SOMETHING!"

James laughed, either her anger or her ditziness had caused her mind to become clouded. Surely she knew miltank didn't evolve? Regardless, he returned oddish and brought out his final pokemon.

Rex barked happily, recognising the pokemon that was laid in front of him. James had to grab hold of him before he ran forward and licked the miltank, mistaking it for one who grazed on his mother's farm. He had to waste a few minutes, explaining the difference, but the miltank remained blissfully asleep, despite Whitney's ever-increasing wails.

"Ember!" Miltank's body charred from the flames and tears flooded from Whitney's eyes. She had given up shouting at her pokemon and now focused on James, calling him ever insult under the sun. He felt quite proud of himself for withstanding and not reacting, but Kelsie growled at the childish gym leader. Who on earth had given her the right to become one?

A few more attacks later, miltank awoke. She pulled herself up whilst Whitney cheered, and endured a similar hug to the one Kelsie had received earlier that evening. It was enough to force miltank back down.

Whitney was confused. Miltank had been fine a few seconds ago. "Doesn't count!" She called out, waving her arms. "My hug knocked her out, that doesn't count!"

"Err, Whitney?" James wasn't bothered about hurting her feelings. After all, she had done her best to hurt his. "You have no more pokemon. You're disqualified."

"You're lying." Her face fell and she looked at the three other girls for support. Even her friends shook their heads. "Huh?" She sniffed, sinking to the ground. "I lost?" Without warning, she erupted into tears, sobbing noisily, issuing more insults. "You're just mean, you mean horrid boy! I hate you! Waaaaa! Get out of my gym!"

"My god, what a baby."

"She always gets like this after a battle," One of the girls mumbled, apologetically. "She'll sober up in a minute or two."

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Whitney wiped her eyes and blew her nose, pulling herself up. "What?" She spat, glaring at James. "What do you want? A badge?"

"Well… yeah!"

"Oh, of course, silly me." She giggled, back to normal again. "Here." She thrust a small badge into his grasp; it was diamond shaped with a grey border and a yellow centre. It joined James' other badges and he left the gym with Kelsie.

"Thank god that's over," He sighed with relief. "I never have to set foot in there again." Kelsie cleared her throat, it took James a while to realize. "Oh, sorry." He looked disappointed. Kelsie still had to win her badge.

_Just wanted to get this little filler out of the way. The next one may take some time, but then this is me we're talking about :)_


	40. So many birds, one stone

Not wanting to get on the wrong side of Vasseur; Dawson and Alastair took to observing Scott's every move. Dawson managed to keep discretion by telling him, and Lysander, that Vasseur had assigned him to help them.

Unfortunately, this meant that Lysander was forced to partake in work too. Something that terrified him. He managed to avoid getting his hands dirty by continuing with his annotations, but, this time, it meant that he had to make actual ones.

Scott was displeased too. He knew, since Vasseur had given him a helping hand in getting started, that he wouldn't be able to slack off, but he thought that he could, at least, try his best to postpone the inevitable for as long as he could. The animosity between him and his partner was a pretty good excuse. Now Dawson was around, and he suspected that that was the reason why, he couldn't use it.

It was coming up to a week since Dawson had announced he was 'helping'. Scott was grateful for one thing; since Dawson's arrival, the amount of empty cages had increased, so therefore the missing pidgey went unnoticed. On the other hand, the fact that it was unnoticed, because of the increase of empty cages, disturbed him. In the past week, he, Lysander and Dawson were responsible for the emptying of four cages alone. All of which were winged pokemon. Since Scott had made the excuse of trying out a pair of wings, the night Vasseur had caught him sneaking around, Dawson had encouraged them all to carry out the task Scott had said he had started.

Four wings had already been tried and tested, rather vigorously. A dratini, which Scott believed was stolen, had been forced to evolve twice, in order to become a dragonite. A rather premature one who couldn't handle its new strength and powers, and was killed as a result. Dawson had cut off its wings and ordered Scott and Lysander to attach them to ursaring, who was still under heavy sedation.

Scott felt like he was creating a new Frankenstein's monster. The three previous wings they had tried hadn't been good enough for Dawson's liking, let alone Vasseur's. He had been forced to rip wings off of a pidgeot, a fearow and a skarmory. Only two of which had been attached to the ursaring's back. Dawson gave no reasons for dismissal, but Vasseur was more opinionated. Only just. He stated he wanted wings with the largest wing span, for reasons he didn't divulge. He announced that he would be sending some of his 'followers' to try to track down some of the legendary flying types. He stated that lugia and ho-oh's wingspans were pretty decent and, he had added with a chuckle, if they weren't found (which was pretty likely) perhaps one of the elemental type wings of articuno, zapdos, or moltres would satisfy him.

Dawson, however, had wanted to see how dragonite's wings would suffice. Scott wasn't sure why, they weren't exactly the largest wings they had found and been forced, in some cases, to attach. Perhaps he wanted something to do, or perhaps he enjoyed his work of torturing the helpless creatures.

Lysander had been sickened by it all far more than Scott. This due to the fact that he hadn't been around it for long; he had usually hidden himself away. Watching the dratini squirm in pain, as it was forced to grow, was enough to make him physically sick. Pale as a sheet, most days he was able to remain in the office, so long as he delivered his part of the plan. Being as biology was his strong point, it was down to him to deal with the anatomical details; describing how Scott and Dawson should attach what to where. Writing about it was bad enough. Having to watch the operations… Pretty soon he was spending less and less time in that lab.

Left alone to think, most of his days were spent tinkering with scrap metal and shells he managed to accumulate from his walks on the beach at night. Accompanied, of course. No-one was allowed out without an escort. Except Vasseur's henchmen.

* * *

It had been a week since Scott had released the pidgey. Scott had spent the last couple of nights restlessly wondering if Liana had received the message. He had estimated that the journey would have taken, probably, three days at most, pit-stops provided. It was now seven, meaning that the message should have been forwarded to the two teens travelling across Johto. How long would it take them to catch a ferry or train to Kanto? A day? Two at most. Scott cursed himself for suggesting Kelsie start her journey in there first. If he hadn't, perhaps things wouldn't be as bad as they were now.

He had killed a pokemon. More than one. He had, cruelly, forced one to immerse itself in a world of pain, in order to evolve. He was as bad as _them. _The only way to redeem himself now was to lead the remaining pokemon to safety.

He hoped Kelsie would contact him soon.

To his surprise, his mobile began to ring, at noon-ish, the next day.

Lysander, as usual, wasn't around. Dawson looked at the man beside him, suspiciously, and headed towards Scott's desk. Unfortunately, Scott was in the middle of trying to attach the dragonite wings to the poor ursaring and, therefore, was unable to get to his phone quicker. He stared at the back of Dawson's head; fear washing through him. He had specifically advised Liana, James and Kelsie not to contact him via telephone or post. Though, at the time, he mobile had been confiscated and he hadn't been stupid enough to leave a forwarding number or address. However, now Dawson was working with him, it seemed he was trusted enough to keep his mobile with him. After all, if he called the police, Dawson could just snap his neck.

"Hello?" Dawson grinned, was he just about to uncover Scott's secret plans?

"Hello… Scott?" A female voice rang out of the device, Dawson had enabled loudspeaker. Scott tried hard not to let his expression change. Fortunately for him, the reception, either the from other end or from being in the lab, was pretty poor and Liana's voice kept being drowned out by a huge amount of static.

"No, this is his… friend." Dawson shot Scott a glance. His eyebrow was raised, he knew they were going to have words after the phone conversation.

"I just re-… letter… worried…I don't think it's safe f-…" Half of the conversation was missing, thankfully, Dawson was too dim-witted to pick it up. The static took control and Dawson hung up, pocketing the phone afterwards.

Scott was forced to wash his hands and then was marched to the elevator. Vasseur, after Dawson had enlightened him, interrogated him, but Scott's face remained vacant. He simply insisted that he had no idea who the woman was.

However, once Vasseur had dismissed him, Scott was aware of Dawson's **real** reason for working with him. He spent the evening plotting a way to keep him off his back, but came up with none. He had to get them off his back. This way he'd never be able to lead the pokemon to freedom. And, judging by Liana's broken speech, it seemed she was having doubts about forwarding his letter on to the only people who could help.

Scott checked the time, it was coming up to three in the morning. Dawson, who was pretty peeved at Vasseur's lack of concern, had fallen asleep a few hours after Scott had pretended to. He was now filling the cramped sleeping quarters with his loud snores. Scott's mobile had been confiscated once again, so he had no means of phoning Liana back. He prayed that Vasseur didn't phone her up and interrogate her.

A tiny glimmer of hope filled his mind; the phone conversation she had had earlier may have forced Liana to pass the letter on, just to save him. But first, he needed to worry about him being watched over like a hawk.

His brain was far too full for him to sleep. Instead, he took to ransacking the room for something to do. He had managed to burn his written plans before Dawson had conducted his own search of the office, Scott now knew he had been looking for evidence. It was something he did every night, he didn't even have to explain himself, Scott and Lysander had guessed Vasseur was behind it.

After finding nothing, Scott roamed the halls, proceeding to talk to the pokemon. Since Dawson's arrival, he and Lysander had been told that neither one was allowed in the storage room or the lab, without Dawson's presence, unless he had given them permission. Until tonight, Scott had obeyed. They were already looking for any excuse to execute him anyway, he decided he was done with playing along.

Due to the fact that they weren't allowed in without being accompanied or without permission, the storage room and the lab were never searched. Scott had managed to hide his files away in here until he had the chance to burn them. It seemed that Lysander was using the storage room to horde some incriminating evidence too, as there was a box stuffed roughly behind a few empty cages, in the back room. Scott was sure he hadn't spotted that earlier.

Holding a makeshift pokeball in his hand, Scott began to come up with a plan to get Vasseur and his idiots off of his back. He only hoped it would be enough.

* * *

The sun had only just risen. Vasseur was sat in his usual seat, staring at the elevator. He knew he would come.

The elevator pinged and out he rushed, shadows forming under his eyes, his cheeks flushed. He staggered up to the desk, the lack of sleep taking its toll. Vasseur's thin lips stretched into a sneering smile. It was the most amount of joy he had even been able to show, since his mother had passed.

"You have something to tell me." It wasn't a question, Vasseur had been waiting for this confession for a while.

"Yes." He panted, collapsing into the seat and placing an odd spherical object on the desk in front of him. "Lysander…"

Vasseur took the object into his own grasp and studied it. "Ingenious…" He marvelled.

"I suspect he wanted to capture them and create an army. You've been spying on the wrong man Vasseur."

"Not at all Doctor Fletcher," There was no hint of sarcasm in the man's voice this time. He was extremely grateful. "I always knew you would come forth and unveil his plans. If I were to send those idiots after Lysander, he probably would have killed himself in fear."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"I'll have him disposed of, don't worry. Take him to Seafoam Island, kill two birds with one stone, quite literally in one case." He cackled, evilly, Scott suppressed a grin. "Will you be alright, dealing with the anatomical details all by yourself?"

Scott's grin remained in place. "You underestimate me Vasseur."

* * *

_Sorry 'bout the wait, been busy._

_I may not be around for a couple of days. Long story short- internet bill needs paying and I don't get paid until Monday. That's three days away. Therefore, my internet connection will be unavailable until then. I'll be able to write, just not publish, nor reply to reviews or read any new chapters that I have added an alert too. I apologise for this. _

_Anyway, it will give you a few days to ponder over Scott's intentions and loyalties. Is he good after all? Is he really evil? You'll all have to wait to find out :)_


	41. Non evolution

_I'm back! Missed me? Lmao :) Just a necessary filler this time, really. I had to explain why Polly hadn't evolve3d yet and what Kelsie and James had been up to in the week that passed. I can't have a week go by for Scoot and not the other two now, can I?_

It had been a week since James had beaten Whitney. A pretty eventful week at that.

Kelsie had managed to join James in victory, the day after, after some intense evening training. Still not confident with her new addition, Kelsie had kept Muzzy in his pokeball throughout the battle. However, on the way to Ecruteak, she concentrated on training him the most.

He turned out to be a rather useful critter. Despite preferring to blink than attack, Kelsie had managed to convince him to show off his moves. The first- disable- was used out of force, when some annoying rattata decided to keep tearing at his fur with its teeth. Muzzy had stared at the purple rat for a few seconds, blinking as usual, and then the rat backed off, looking dazed. Muzzy's disable had caused the creature to momentarily forget its bite attack. James stared in awe, his mouth hanging open. His taunting soon stopped after that.

The next attack Kelsie saw him use, other than tackle of course, was his supersonic. Kelsie already knew how annoying that move was, having experienced it a few times in Union cave. Muzzy using it, however, was something differently entirely. He managed to make a wild growlithe defeat itself using its own fire attacks. It was pretty impressive.

Finally, was foresight. Having regarded it as totally useless, both Kelsie and James were completely surprised by what it could do. A random trainer was just leaving the Ecruteak gym when this marvel occurred. Her haunter had taken Kelsie by surprise, creeping up on her talking to James as she headed to the pokemon centre. Fortunately, Muzzy was out of his ball, having been confusing stray pokemon. He ran, or rather bounded, towards the ghost, ignoring Kelsie cries, warning him that his tackle would be rendered useless, and narrowed his huge, red eyes. A twinkle appeared in the corner of his right eye, an almost invisible beam shooting from it and latching onto the haunter.

The three trainers watched, stunned, as Muzzy then launched himself forward and slammed into the ghost. He squeaked, angrily, but the haunter just cackled, swallowing its shock. Muzzy managed to disable its attack- lick- and watched it struggle to remember which attack it had wanted to use, before tackling it again. The female trainer had seen enough, she returned her pokemon, glared at the venonat and its trainer, and then stalked off. Muzzy returned to his usual blank state, but Kelsie had never underestimated him again.

It was with that, she managed to defeat Morty with ease, with Polly and flaaffy's assistance, of course.

James had managed to win his fourth badge too. Rex's bite was brilliant against the ghosts; his part dark type made their attacks pretty useless against him. Fearow's part normal type helped also, making him immune to the ghostly attacks too. Oddish watched from the sidelines with Kelsie and her pokemon. She didn't mind, she had taken to Kelsie's newest addition greatly, nestling up in his big ball of purple fur, squealing happily as he let her furrow in it. Not much bothered him.

The gym battles had only taken two days, the travel to Ecruteak; three. Kelsie had become almost obsessed with a new pokemon- a male nidoran- and made many failed attempts to catch one, whist James lazed in the sun, finding it ironic how male nidoran were pink and female ones were blue.

The last two days had been spent sight-seeing and taking a break from the ever-exhausting training. Tin tower was off limits, and despite James attempts to sneak in, neither of them had found out what was inside. No-one was willing to talk about it, those who knew, anyway. Which only fuelled their curiosity. After several wasted hours, however, a wizened old man had enlightened them, leading them to discover that there was now nothing of interest. Ho-oh, the legendary bird, was once said to have roosted up top, but that was just legend. Thorough searches had proven otherwise.

Burnt tower was open to explore, on the other hand. Kelsie had managed to get herself lost, much to James' amusement. Muzzy's ghost depletion abilities helped her fight her way back to the first floor of the tower though. James had cracked up after finding out she had fallen down a hole. As usual, there had been a legendary tale behind that tower, and the hole incidentally, too. Some weird looking man, who helped pull Kelsie back up to the first floor, had explained.

About two-hundred years ago, the tower burned down in a mysterious fire, ignited by a bolt of lightning. The fire caused three nameless pokemon to perish. Ho-oh, fleeing from its perch on top of the tower, granted new life to the pokemon, making them into the legendary beasts, before flying off, in search of a pure-hearted trainer. The three events of the fire; the lightning bolt, raging blaze, and sudden downpour, are said to have some relation to the three beasts.

He told them that he was still searching for one of those legendary beasts, and then wandered away, dreamily. Kelsie and James had left soon after that.

The evening after, they had managed to meet up with Kirralie, much to James' disappointment. And all three of them were now on their way to Olivine.

During their absence, Kirralie had managed to gain a new pokemon- a seel. Her hoppip had evolved too; it was now a green colour instead of red, fatter and the dandelion leaves had changed into a yellow-petal flower. The rest were no different, except togepi now had a silver chain hanging around her neck, a small, greyish- blue stone attached.

"What's that?" Kelsie asked, once they had stopped for a break. They were resting under the sheltering canopy of some trees. All eleven pokemon were tucking into a collection of wild berries and fruit. James had spotted a nearby farm and had gone to take a look; coming back with an armful of goodies, including moomoo milk and strawberries.

"What's what?" Kirralie replied, thickly, her mouth full of strawberry mush. Her lips were bright red from the juice, as were most of her fingers. Sticky business, eating strawberries.

"That stone." James turned to stare too.

"Oh, that." Kirralie smiled, wiping her mouth and leaving pink stains on her arm. "It's an everstone, stops a pokemon from evolving."

"Why would you want to do that? I thought the whole purpose of evolution was to make a pokemon stronger." James asked, rather bluntly.

"Not necessarily." Kirralie rolled her eyes at him, but still smiled. James scowled, the fact that she knew so much more than him about pokemon, and the fact that she knew that, bothered him. She would never miss a chance to lecture him, as he put it. While he appreciated the help, sometimes, most of the time he preferred to be spared the lecturing.

"Sometimes a pokemon, or a trainer, choose not to let their pokemon evolve. It could be for any number of reasons; to learn a new move quicker, or just simply because they like the pre-evolved form more."

"What's your reason? You let hoppip evolve."

"Yeah, but I'd prefer to have a togepi for now." James sighed. That whole explanation was useless.

"I need one of them." Kelsie said, quietly. Kirralie and James turned to look at her, she was still staring at the bluish stone.

"Why?" Kirralie asked. "Which one don't you want to evolve?"

"It's not me. It's Polly. She doesn't want to evolve."

"Huh?" Even James was puzzled. "How do you know that?"

A few days previous, Kelsie had just returned to the pokemon center, worn out from training up her pokemon. James had already gone to bed, the rain dampening his spirits, especially as Rex kept whining. Kelsie had noticed Polly acting strangely and turned to face her, wondering if she was ok.

"She kept enveloping herself in this white light and then pulling herself out of it." Kelsie explained. "I guess she didn't want to evolve."

"Why?"

Kelsie shrugged, glancing over at the poliwag. She had similar smears to Kirralie, all around her mouth. She looked pretty content; playfully squirting oddish, bellsprout and seel with jets of water. She enjoyed hanging around with her fellow female pokemon. "I think, I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but I think it's because her evolution isn't that girly."

James snorted. "Pfft. Whatever. Who ever heard of a pokemon not evolving because they were too girly?"

"She has a point." Kirralie argued. James glared at her. Trust her to disagree. "Polly's into bows and girly accessories. Show me where you can put a bow on a poliwhirl."

"On its… Well…"

"Precisely." She looked smug. James pulled a face. "You could always convince her to evolve and then evolve her into a politoed straight after. They're more girly than a poliwrath." Kirralie dug into her bag and pulled out a pokemon magazine. She had obviously thumbed through it often, as some of the pages were pretty worn. A clefairy was on the front, wearing a dazzling, sparkly costume and posing. James thought it looked stupid.

Kirralie flicked through the non-glossy pages and showed Kelsie a picture on one of the pages near the end. Unlike the other poli-evolutions, politoed resembled an actual frog, than a tadpole. Obviously the colouring had changed; it was now green with yellow toes, hands, throat and the spiral on the belly. It had longer legs and pikachu-like cheek pouches. It had a single, long curl of hair on top of its head. Although not completely girly-looking, politoed _did _look more feminine than poliwhirl and poliwrath.

Kelsie called her poliwag over and showed her the picture. "Would you prefer to be a politoed?" She asked. Polly seemed to consider the question, and after a few minutes, nodded.

"That's sorted then." Kirralie grinned, clapping her hands together. "When you're ready, get Polly to evolve and then we'll evolve her into politoed."

"Just one question- how?"

"Well you need to trade her whilst getting her to hold a King's Rock."


	42. Just another filler

"A what?"

"A King's Rock."

"Let me guess," James snorted, looking cynical. "You just happen to have one of those?"

"No silly. They're incredibly rare."

"I'm not sure I'd want to trade her…" Kelsie looked rather aghast at the thought.

"Don't worry," Kirralie chuckled. "You'd get her back. Just trade her with one of our pokemon and we'll trade her back straightaway." Kelsie looked relieved. "We just need to find a King's Rock." James still looked scornful, but it was Kelsie and Polly's decision and they both looked pleased with the idea.

They packed up the remaining fruit and milk and then continued to Olivine. Kirralie had wanted to go to Mahogany town first, but after seeing the huge, confusing cave she would have to travel through, Kelsie had refused. Especially as it was pitch black inside. At least Union cave had been illuminated.

James had laughed at her fears and told her to hitch a ride across the water on Polly. Kelsie, on the other hand, was adamant that the poor poliwag wouldn't even be able to lift her, let alone swim without letting her get wet. Polly had, indignantly, waddled over to her trainer and tried her best to lift her with her head. As a result, Kelsie's shrieks had pierced the air as she fell into the water and stared, horrified, at its depths and the looming jellyfish monsters. She had coughed and spluttered her way back to land and dragged herself out, beside the group of laughing pokemon and people.

She had been in quite a mood for a while after that.

Kirralie had insisted that getting to Cianwood would be worse. And that the sea held a lot more tentacool and tentacruel than the streams and rivers did. Kelsie shot her a glare and declared that she would be fine. However, as soon as they set foot in Olivine, James and Kirralie found her searching for a reasonable sized water pokemon who would be able to carry her across large bodies of water.

"You could always face you claustrophobia." Kirralie laughed, and was met with yet another glare.

"Couldn't your fearow fly us across?" Kelsie asked, looking hopeful.

"I don't think he knows that move yet." James fumbled in his pocket for his pokedex, but Kirralie stopped him before he pulled it out.

"He wouldn't. You need a HM to teach him."

"Where do you get that?"

"I heard you get it from Cianwood." Back to square one for Kelsie then.

Neither of them had spent the short trip from Ecruteak to Olivine training, so Kirralie had set to work drawing them up a schedule. Sitting in the cool shade of the café, she began colour-coding sheets of paper, nibbling on a straw that issued her chilled orange juice from a glass. James, not wanting to be inside on a typically sunny day, especially when the were at the seaside, had ran off to the beach, his pokemon hurrying after him. He also wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and the schedule.

That left Kelsie to look for her new pokemon. Not that she could find a suitable candidate. A few krabby had chased her around, snipping their pincers at her, and a few corsola bobbed on the shore. None big enough for her to sit on comfortably.

* * *

"Giving up?" James laughed as Kelsie flopped down onto the hot sand, beside Rex. He was laid on his side, stretched out, sunbathing.

Kelsie ignored him, sticking her chin out pointedly, as she slapped suntan lotion on her exposed arms, legs and face. Once finished, she pulled out her sunglasses from her back, put them on, and laid back herself.

"It helps to be in a bathing suit." James grinned.

"Perv."

"Am not!" He blushed and then nudged her with his toe. "Cheer up! We'll think of something. Kirralie doesn't have a water pokemon, neither do I. We'll probably get a boat or something." That seemed to cheer Kelsie up. She propped herself up on her elbows and peered over the top of her sunglasses.

"You're being serious, right?" James nodded. "Good." She smiled. "I guess I can relax now. Nice trunks, by the way." James blushed again, but soon ran off to the sea, leaving Kelsie to soak up the sun.

Polly joined him; swimming off into the waves whilst James splashed about in the shallows. Many others were playing about on the beach too, so Kelsie had warned her pokemon, and James', not to stray too far. Flaaffy, not wanting to electrocute everyone, seated herself beside her trainer, watching Polly and oddish have fun in the sea, a glum look on her face. Still slightly traumatised from her pond escapade in Ilex forest, oddish kept to the shallows with James (until he plucked up enough courage to start swimming). Fearow had decided to stretch his wings; flying above the swimmers, occasionally skimming the tips of his wings in the cooling water.

After half an hour, Kirralie and her pokemon joined them. She, like Kelsie, hadn't bothered to change into her swimming costume, as she hadn't planned on sticking around. She couldn't stand sand. She carefully positioned a towel on the beach and delicately sat herself down. Her pichu and togepi were running around, giggling, skiploom trying his best to keep up.

"What's the plan then?" Kelsie asked, groggily. She had fallen asleep and togepi's shrieks of joy had awoken her.

Kirralie handed her a piece of paper, her name was on the top. Apparently, based on a discussion they had had earlier, James was to be the first to challenge the gym leader. Kirralie had chosen herself to be second, leaving Kelsie last. Their names had been highlighted in different colours, for decoration purposes (Kirralie thought it looked pretty), and breaks, bedtimes and other reasons for pausing training time were blocks of grey. Kelsie could see why James had thought the schedule was pointless; it didn't really seem to have a purpose, except for who was going to challenge Jasmine, and when.

"Right." Kelsie placed the slip in her pocket. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow." Kirralie replied.

* * *

"That's strange…" James stared at his mobile, a puzzled look on his face, as he joined the girls for dinner in the pokemon centre. After looking at the café's menu, Kirralie had decided that a free dinner was certainly cheaper than the pricey food they had served there. Even if the food was of better quality in the café.

"What is?" Kelsie asked, feeding Polly before she tucked into her own dinner. Being a vegetarian, Polly had turned her nose up at the dinner on offer- steak and kidney pie- so Kelsie was feeding her some salad and the remainder of the fruit.

"I missed a call from my mum this afternoon. Normally she waits for me to call." James looked concerned. "Maybe there's something wrong."

"Mummy's boy." Kirralie sniggered, James ignored her and disappeared again, leaving the noisy room to call his mum.

He reappeared several minutes later.

Kelsie looked up, finally being able to eat her own food, which was now cold. "Everything alright? Your mum ok? And Pedro?"

"Don't look so worried," James chuckled. "They're fine. Mum just wanted to know where we were. She has a letter for us."

"From who?"

"Doctor Fletcher. Apparently he has a task for us."

* * *

_Yeah, another slow chapter, totally useless, but I had originally planned to add it onto the end of the last chapter, except it seemed too long. But excitement comes next. Woo! I promise, I will try my best to make it good. It will definitely be better than this one and the last one. I just didn't exactly know how to fill the gap from the week passed to James getting a phone-call from his mum. I also can't write in heat and, well, these last few days have been too hot for me. _

_Enough excuses, I'm off to start the next chapter. If you want, review, but I don't blame you if you have nothing to comment on :) Also, any ideas on how I should end? I have (sort of) a plan, but it needs work._


	43. His plan revealed

Liana had chosen to use one of her own bird pokemon to give Scott's pidgey a rest. Being as they hadn't been cooped up like the pidgey, they were far more efficient. The hoothoot Liana had chosen had only taken two days to reach the three trainers. Two exhausting, train-filled days.

James was relieved of the break. Although he had resisted and trained on his own terms, after ripping up Kirralie's stupid schedule, the arguments between them weren't any better. It had been decided, as they were fed up of rubbing each other up the wrong way, that, after defeating Jasmine, Kelsie and James would go on to Cianwood and Kirralie would go alone to Mahogany. Both were too stubborn to back down from leaving Olivine now, and, as James had pointed out, he couldn't leave; he was expecting a letter.

Though she would be sad to see Kirralie leave, being as she actually got along with her, Kelsie knew it was for the best. The two of them had swapped numbers and enjoyed training together whilst James sulked off.

As soon as the hoothoot arrived, James perked up considerably. It meant he could get his badge, Kelsie could get hers, and they could be on their way.

Naturally, the hoothoot had arrived at night. The three of them, Kirralie somewhat reluctantly, had been waiting in the lobby of the pokemon centre every evening, for a few hours, since Liana had told her son she had sent the hoothoot on its way. Kirralie and James had tried their best to not ruin the already ruined atmosphere by their silly squabbling. They sat in silence, Kelsie trying her best to talk about things they would both respond to. They responded alright, with non-verbal communication. Grunts, nods and shrugs seemed to be the most popular.

James beat Kelsie to the hoothoot, upon its arrival. It had barely hopped through the door, before James had scooped it up and plucked the letter from its beak. It hooted feebly, and was about to take back off into the darkness, when Nurse Joy suggested it rested here for the night. The owl looked grateful and flew over to her, landing on her shoulder. They disappeared into the back room.

"Give it here!" James held the letter above his head, standing on his tippy-toes. Kelsie failed to snatch it away, even when she jumped. Kirralie rolled her eyes at the spectacle, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like; '_Grow up._'

"I'm reading it first." James stuck out his tongue, laughing, having fun for what felt like the first time in a few days. He turned his back on the pouting girl and ripped open the envelope.

_James and Kelsie,_

_I don't know what Liana has told you about this letter, or even if she has read it, but I have a feeling she may consider what I ask as dangerous. However, given your age and the importance of this task, I feel it isn't inappropriate to ask for your help. I can't go into too much detail, just incase this letter is intercepted or incase the pokemon I have sent doesn't deliver to the right address, but I can give you the basics and hope that I impress on you the urgency of this plea._

_For how long, I do not know, but someone is planning to do something terrible to the entire pokemon population and has enlisted me, amongst others to help him. Although I am giving him reassurance that I will help him, and how I detest myself for doing so, that is not my reason for staying. I have no intention to carry out his monstrous task. I serve him only to be close to the captured pokemon, in hope to free them. And to do that, I need your help. Your role would be to assist the pokemon to freedom, and, if possible, lead them back to Liana's ranch. I do realize how difficult that may be, therefore getting them as far as possible, away from Fuchsia, would be acceptable, so long as they are not captured again. Again, I realize this may be impossible, due to the fact that there may be many on the wrong side, I do not know for sure who, or how many. If that is the case, and pokemon do get recaptured, I'll just have to keep saving them, and I will do until I figure out away to bring the wrongdoer down._

_I turned to you, partly because you are trainers and would be strong enough, kind enough, for the pokemon to trust you. The other part is because I know and trust you. I would not enlist any random stranger to do this task, given its importance. I need you to travel to Fuchsia. Please. Once there, contact me, but do not say anything about this letter or the task I am asking you to do. My phone lines are tapped, my post is being read and my mobile is confiscated. Ring this number; *********** and just say you are in town for one day only, you knew I was working here and wanted to meet up. I will be accompanied, therefore keep the chat simple. Talk about training. I will ask the question; 'When are you leaving?', respond with 'Tonight'. If I shake my head, that means I won't be able to carry our plan out then. Just stick close and wait for any news from me. How I will deliver it, I'm not so sure yet._

_My plan is simple. I need you to hang around the Safari Zone, keep your head down, there are cameras, by the bins and wait for a body bag. Don't panic- it will be a living pokemon, I will be trying my best to smuggle them out that way, if the pokemon co-operate. I would like you to take the body bag, pose as bin-men if need be, and take the pokemon to safety. The pokemon are fitted with a device, a tag, to restrict their attacks. Free them._

_Hopefully, I will hear from you soon. I apologise for any danger I lead you into._

_Scott Fletcher._

James finished reading, his face pale. Kelsie had stopped trying to grab at the letter and stared at him, confused and intrigued. Even Kirralie looked concerned. She placed a hand on his arm, he was clammy, shaking lightly too.

"Here." His mouth had gone dry, it had come out as a croak. He handed the letter to Kelsie, who was even more puzzled by the look on his face. They didn't notice a slip of paper glide to the floor.

Kelsie read as James sat down, his eyes staring blankly into space as he tried to deal with what he had read. Kirralie was asking him questions, her voice seemed some distance away, eventhough she was standing next to him.

It took Kelsie longer to read than James. She was trying her best to take in every little piece of information the long letter provided. Her expression had changed too. Bewilderment was replaced with understanding, concern with shock. Though she didn't pale like James had, she did stare at the piece of paper in horror, long after she had finished reading.

"Perhaps you can tell me what it's about." Kirralie sighed, realizing Kelsie had finished reading. Kelsie turned to face her, she opened her mouth, but couldn't seem to muster the words. Instead, she handed the letter over for her to read for herself.

This, James seemed to register. He leapt up and attempted to snatch the paper away. "No!" He cried. Kirralie looked alarmed, Kelsie's expression hadn't changed, but she had jumped at his sudden movement.

"What is your problem?" Kirralie asked, outraged. She managed to keep the letter out of James' reach. "A few minutes ago you were all hyper, now you look depressed. Both of you. What's happened? Has someone died?" James glared at her.

"Why did you give it to her?"

"Do you want to explain what you just read? 'Cos I don't." James didn't reply, Kelsie took his lack of response as agreement. They waited for Kirralie to read. A sharp gasp told them when she had. Her expression matched theirs.

"What are you going to do?" She asked them. James and Kelsie looked at each other, silently asking each other the same thing.

"I need to sleep on it." James pushed past the two girls and trudged upstairs. The girls agreed that that seemed to be the best thing to do, and set to follow his lead.

"Wait!" A young girl had just entered the pokemon centre and had spotted the note that was on the floor, where Kelsie's feet had been a second ago. The elder girls swivelled round to face her and she pointed at the floor, at the note. "You left something behind." She scrambled over to pick it up and handed it to Kirralie.

"Thank you." She forced a smile and flipped it over to read. Thankfully it hadn't been trodden on. Her eyes scanned it quickly and she gasped again. "It's for you." She said, forcing it into Kelsie's clenched fist.

"What does it say?" She asked, curious as to why Kirralie had gasped. But she was met with no answer. She smoothed it out and looked down at the words written in the same elegant scrawl;

_Kelsie, _

_Not to try to convince you further that you should help me, because I wouldn't want to force that kind of pressure on you as I realize how incredibly dangerous this may be, for you, James, myself and any pokemon we try to help, but I have another reason why I specifically asked you. Not you and James. Just you. _

_He is safe, for now, but for how much longer, I cannot say. I am talking about your typhlosion. He is here. I have found him._

* * *

Her complexion grew whiter and the note fluttered back onto the floor as she stood there, mouth open and eyes wide, as still as a statue, covered in shock. Her mind now officially made up.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

* * *

_There. Hopefully, it makes up for the previous filler chapters. Expect things to become very interesting. And a shock is coming too._


	44. This is goodbye

Kelsie barely slept. Her mind was buzzing with excitement, anxiety and impatience. Kirralie had assured her, before they had gone to bed, that she was coming with her. She hadn't needed to sleep on it. Her plan, all along, had been to get all of the Johto badges as quick as she could and then whiz off to Kanto to foil the poacher's plans and start a new journey there. Now she knew where they were, screw Johto.

All she needed now, was James' answer. She was confident he wouldn't let her down.

"I'm staying here." James told them, the next morning. "I know it's a terrible thing that's happening, but it's too risky. Our plans were to become trainers and find Kelsie's typhlosion. Hey, maybe you could go." He hinted, staring at Kirralie, a grin on his face. Both girls turned to stare at him, their faces sombre. "What?"

"We're going. We decided last night." Kirralie unfolded the note addressed to Kelsie, which she had picked up after Kelsie had dropped it (again) and handed it to James. He took it, looking confused, whilst Kelsie stared at her half-eaten porridge.

"Oh." James' face was a picture, once he had finished reading. "He found him?"

"Yeah." Kelsie forced a smile, but she felt sick. "We need to get going, there's a lot to sort out. We need to pack, we need to decide how to get there, we need…"

"Erm, Kelsie?" She stopped talking and looked up. James looked nervous. "I'm sorry. I'm still not going." Kelsie reeled in shock, swaying backwards, though that might have been due to the lack of sleep than the shock. Kirralie looked incredulous, but, for once, she held her tongue.

"What?"

"Sorry. I hope you understand."

Amazingly, Kelsie laughed. "Oh don't worry, I understand." James' face flickered with relief. "I understand that you're a incredibly selfish bastard." Silence filled the room as heads turned to face them. Even the pokemon in the room had stopped their chatter. "After everything, you don't even want to help me. Don't worry James, I understand." Her sarcasm hit him in the face, as she turned on her heel and marched out of the canteen.

"Idiot." Kirralie shook her head at him and hurried after her.

James stood there, shocked, ignoring the murmurs that had started. "Wait a minute…" He ran after the two girls, into the main lobby of the pokemon centre. Kelsie was halfway up the stairs, holding a blank look steady on her face. Kirralie wasn't far behind her. "Kelsie, wait!"

She stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him. "I've nothing left to say. I'm going, you're staying. What else is there to add?"

"Please don't be mad at me." He begged. "We need to talk about this." She shook her head, adamant that there was still nothing left to add.

"I'm not mad." James wasn't sure if that were true. Even in the canteen, Kelsie had never raised her voice, never shouted, yet her eyes were flashing with anger and her words dripped with disdain. "I completely understand why you want to abandon me," James' face fell. "Despite the fact that your mother assigned you to look after me, throughout our whole journey."

"But we planned to become trainers, to find your typhlosion…"

"No, that's where you're wrong." Fed up with everyone glaring at her as she stood in the way, Kelsie descended the stairs. She was shaking by the time she came face to face with James, her eyes stinging with the bitterness of tears, her throat burned with words she longed to yell in order to express her pain. Instead, she forced a steady voice and disguised how she really felt, except for the anger. She couldn't hold it back, no matter how hard she tried.

"It was your plan. I didn't want to faff about, remember? I didn't want to waste time sight-seeing, I wanted to train the pokemon I had, get the badge and move on. It was **you **who convinced me otherwise. It was **you **who managed to get me excited about battling and collecting different types of pokemon. And now it's **you** who is holding me back from helping my best friend, now that I know where he is." James said nothing in response, but stared at the floor. "I have nothing to say to you. Stay here, fulfil your dream. I'm going to get my typhlosion." Kelsie turned again.

"I understand how you're feeling…"

Kelsie froze, trying hard not to scoff. "Excuse me?"

"I get why you want to rush off, I really do. Why can't you understand why I want to stay?"

"Have you ever lost someone who you were so close to? Have you ever been stranded, lost and confused, alone? Have you ever had to become something you never wanted to be, in order to find someone who means that much to you?" Kelsie turned round, for the final time. She was shaking her head, blinking rapidly, half laughing. She had completely disregarded James' last question. She was still focused on his apparent insistence of knowing how she felt. That was what hurt her the most.

"No." She answered, before he could, still shaking her head. "Don't you **dare** say you know how I'm feeling, 'cos if you did, you'd support me every step of the way, without hesitation." She blinked, her eyes stung again. Without waiting for a reply, she walked back up the stairs and disappeared from view.

"You agree with her, don't you?" James turned to the remaining girl, who wasn't hurrying off after watching that scene. Kirralie nodded, eventhough James hadn't really intended it to be a question. He sighed.

"She's right." Was all she said, before making to follow.

"Kiz, wait." James grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "You've got to understand, this is my dream. You don't know how long I've been waiting for my mum to allow me to follow it."

"And what you don't understand is that finding her typhlosion is _her_ dream." Kirralie pulled her arm free and glared at James' saddened face. It felt weird, this whole situation. It was usually Kirralie and James who were arguing, not Kelsie. She preferred to stay out of it. She could usually cope with James' childish behaviour and his fondness for winding people up. In fact, apart from one time in Ilex forest, she was able to match his quips with her own and ignore him when he got too cocky. Unlike Kirralie. She had gone from being flirty with him to deciding he was far too immature for her and quibbling over every little thing they objected to. It was Kelsie who tried her best to keep the peace. Kirralie felt strange being put into her shoes.

"She hates me, doesn't she?"

"No, surprisingly, she does understand. She's just hurt that you're not supporting her. After everything she's done for you James, you can't even do this for her. Think yourself lucky she's staying calm. If it were me, you would have been chewed up and spat back out by now." Kirralie spat. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

* * *

Kelsie looked around the empty room, making sure everything had been packed away. There was nothing left, except for her egg, belt and the plush toy James had brought her. She hooked the belt onto her jeans and picked up the plush toy. Tears stained her cheeks as she stared at it, her throat was dry and she had a lump in her throat.

Without warning, she hurled the teddy at the farthest wall, a strangled yell escaping from her lips. As soon as it hit the carpet, she had rushed over, scooped it up and cradled it to her chest, crying again.

This process was repeated numerous times before she sunk to the floor, back resting against the bed frame, the cyndaquil toy stuffed in her backpack, her egg nestled into her arms.

"Still wondering what it is huh?" Kelsie looked up at the chuckle, Kirralie was peering round the door. "Have you finished?"

"Almost." Kelsie sniffed. "I bet Nurse Joy will be glad to see us leave, after the scene we caused today." She gave a half-hearted chuckle and clambered to her feet. "Are you all packed?"

Kirralie nodded. "I thought we could talk about our travelling plans over lunch. James wants to say goodbye. Properly." Kelsie nodded and followed her out, slinging her back onto her back.

James was waiting in the lobby. He looked up, hearing footsteps, tear-tracks visible on his cheeks too. He rose, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. Kelsie mumbled that she would meet them there and hurried off to the bathroom to clean herself up. Kirralie led the way to the café, James shuffling after her.

Kirralie insisted she pay for lunch, being as Kelsie was offering to buy her train/ferry ticket, courtesy of her father. James insisted he wasn't hungry and sat, moping, on the opposite side of the table. "C'mon, this could be your last proper meal in a while. Trainers travelling alone often don't have much money to spare, I hope you're good at cooking."

"Is that a dig?"

"No."

Kelsie slunk into the seat beside Kirralie and insisted she wasn't hungry either. However, Kirralie managed to force a meal upon both of them and before long, there were three empty plates in front of them.

"I think we should make our pokemon's goodbyes short." Kelsie said, eventually. She sounded stiff. Our train leaves soon and I don't want my pokemon to hurt anymore than they have to." James nodded in agreement.

Oddish flung herself in Muzzy's fur and refused to let go. Her squeaks became more and more high-pitched the more James tried to prize her away. He had received a stiff hug from Kirralie, but Kelsie just stood there, waiting for her pokemon to finish their goodbyes.

"Sorry guys," She whispered hoarsely. "But this is goodbye. We won't be seeing James again."

_Did anyone see that coming? Honestly? *Wipes eyes* It would have been a lot better, but I wanted to hurry over the emotional parts._


	45. Navigation

It was a lot to get used to. Kelsie's mood rapidly went from excited, to worried, to upset and back to excited. She was going to see her best friend again, she was determined she would save him, but she was leaving a new one behind.

No. It was his choice. He was leaving her behind.

Scenery blurred past, making Kelsie feel sick. She staggered her way to the bathroom on more than one occasion. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten." She had muttered.

Kirralie was just as silent as she was. The magnet train was empty and pokemon weren't allowed in the carriage, so the silence between them echoed hollowly. There was no time to reminisce, however, they had plans to make. Kelsie felt that the sooner they started, the better.

"How do we get to Fuchsia?" She asked, halfway through the journey. Kirralie flipped up her pokegear and scrolled through the map.

"It looks pretty complicated." She mused. "The journey'll take a few days, at least."

* * *

Everything went silent, the gull's screeches and the crashing of the waves had suddenly ceased. There was heavy pressure on his upper arm, a tight grip almost cutting off his blood circulation. He was being dragged along again, his muffled cries lost against the sounds of the ocean. Until now.

He heard his own voice, eerily loud in the hush, making him jump a few times. He felt blinder than he had outside. At least, he assumed he had been led inside something. The air wasn't refreshing, it was suffocating. The dim glow of light that was once forcing its way through the cracks of his blindfold were no longer. His nose tingled, not smelling salt like before, but dirt, must, death.

After what felt like hours, and just before he felt like his legs would give way from exhaustion, he was thrown onto the ground, feeling damp spread through his shirt, chilling his skin. His arm, bruised from the iron-like grip, slammed into the dirty gravel, whipping up dust from the ground, causing him to cough and splutter, choking through his gag.

"Shut up." He heard a gruff voice and he howled, doubling over, coughing again, as a thick, heavy boot collided with his gut. The rope forcing his wrists together sliced his skin, as he pulled them to the floor, trying to push himself upright. "Stay down traitor." The voice snarled again and he whimpered, expecting to feel the contact of the boot again.

"What now?" There was another voice, less harsh than the one before.

"Well, we're lost, ain't we." The first voice spat, literally. He heard the splatter on the ground, echoing around him. He squirmed away. "I say just leave 'im 'ere. Finding articuno without having to lug this brute around will be a lot easier."

"We're supposed to kill him." The other hissed. "He could quite easily escape."

"Do you fancy facing these pokemon here alone?" Sinister laughter and a lighter laugh followed the question. "They'd tear 'im to shreds. Suppose we could always drown 'im." More laughter. He gulped, imagining the silent ripples of the many pools in Seafoam Island. But the thought of savage pokemon, towering over him, looking for a meal, scared him even more.

"Vasseur's expecting us back soon, we should hurry." The two of them decided to leave him to navigate his way out of the labyrinth cave, facing the pokemon alone, rather than go through the messy business of drowning him. They left him, tied, gagged and blindfolded, and hurried off to look for the legendary ice bird.

Lysander winced, feeling the rope rub against his raw skin again, as he lifted his wrists up to his face, tugging at the material covering his eyes. Ignoring the pressure against his throat, he lowered his head down to his chest and reached around to the back of his head. Eventually, the material gave way and tumbled down to the floor. He blinked, the cave's darkness was so much lighter than the dark material that had tried to force his eyes deep into their sockets.

His hands scrabbled to pull out the bundles that were forced down his throat. He spluttered again, retching, and gasped as he gulped the sweet(ish) air down his windpipe. His teeth ached as he gnawed on the rope binding his wrists. His head pounded from the blow he had received earlier and the feeling of suffocation in his chest; panic attack already.

The knot came loose, finally, after endless tugging. His wheezes were getting louder and his panicking was getting worse. He was petrified he would draw the pokemon out of their hiding places and provide them with a feast. Well, not quite, he was far too skinny to be considered a feast.

Free, Lysander scrabbled to his feet and started running. Pools of endless depths were everywhere, and more than once he almost tumbled into them. Panting, he managed to step back in time and veer off in a different direction.

Eventually, a strong, salty breeze hit his face. He shivered, but stepped towards the light, which turned out to be twinkling dots in black velvet sky, and the crescent shape of the glowing moon. He laughed, he had actually managed to escape. Granted, he had been left to be eaten, it wasn't exactly that challenging to get away.

* * *

Evening had hit before Kelsie and Kirralie arrived in Saffron city. The stepped off the train, both feeling slightly worse for wear. The ever-increasing speed had taken its toll on Kirralie too, and eventhough she hadn't been as close to James as Kelsie had, she had felt the raw sting of tears also.

Although she had been pretending to be asleep, Kirralie knew that Kelsie had spent most of the journey ridding herself of the grief and pain. Now she refused to talk about it. She had said that she had wanted to put it behind her and that she didn't want his name mentioned. She said it was better that way.

Kelsie pulled her jacket around her tighter, the air was cooler in Kanto and it hit her like a slap in the face, after getting used to Johto's heat. She suppressed a shiver and began to search the city for somewhere to sleep. She was in no condition to begin her search tonight. Kirralie seemed to silently agree.

The little talks they had had were about their plans. Kirralie had warned that they would probably have to camp out on more than a few occasions, keeping to the dirt tracks. The journey was going to be long and hard enough without taking any detours or what could be considered as shortcuts, being as neither of them had been the Kanto region before. Kelsie had nodded in agreement.

They had also agreed that the first morning would be spent gathering supplies-food, directions, maps, camping gear for Kirralie- before they set off. Their pokemon would be kept out at all times, protection from absolutely anything. Who knew what weirdoes Kanto held. Even if it meant they were more at risk of being poke-napped. Though Kirralie had argued, by herself as Kelsie listened and gave no input, being poke-napped would allow them to chase the poachers to Fuchsia.

The final thing that had been agreed was that Kirralie was helping Kelsie every step of the way. No arguments. After what had almost happened to her, until James and Kelsie saved her pokemon, Kirralie had vowed she would take those poachers down. No matter what. She was going to take James' place in this plan of Mr. Fletcher's. Once Kelsie was reunited with typhlosion, the pokemon were saved and the bad guys were defeated, Kirralie would then continue with her gym challenges. She still had trouble seeing why James couldn't do that too, but she had kept that opinion to herself. Perhaps she felt more strongly about stopping the poachers than he did.

* * *

Morning came quickly, much to Kelsie's relief. The night had dragged on and each time she had fallen asleep, she would awaken, often only half-an-hour later. She had spent much of her supposed sleeping time studying her own pokegear, trying to plan out a clear route. It had been hopeless of course, and finally sleep deprivation had taken its toll, sometime around half-past-three.

After a pitiful five hours sleep, Kelsie was now forcing herself to explore the town before Kirralie awoke, gathering most of their supplies so that they could set off sooner.

Much of the equipment she needed could be, and was, purchased at the mart. Directions were much more tricky. No-one stopped to chat, most were far too afraid. The lack of wild pokemon, and the increase of stolen ones from trainers were alarming. Everyone seemed to be suspicious of everyone, especially those who posed as tourists. Kelsie received many glares in the mart, though a few other trainers sympathised. They had gone through the same thing.

Kelsie resolved that she would just have to figure it out herself and, once Kirralie had woken, washed, dressed, eaten and was ready, they set off in the north direction.

"We're lost." Kirralie stated, Kelsie looked her, her expression clearly said; '_No shit._'. She had come to that conclusion quite some time ago and had taken to studying her pokegear as Kirralie stared, confused, at the map.

They had reached a cave. Claustrophobic Kelsie had refused to enter and had asked Kirralie, who had begged to be navigator, to look for a different route. Which was why they were sat outside, and had done for a few hours now. Flaaffy and Polly had taken a nap, basking in the sun. It wasn't as hot as Johto's, but it was enough to make Kelsie take off her hoody and it was enough to make her pokemon want to sunbathe, instead of help find a solution. Muzzy, nocturnal, was sat by the entrance, dozing too. He hated the heat, he hated the daytime, so why was his trainer forcing him to confront them both?

Kirralie's pokemon, being as most of them were babies, were enjoying a game of tag; running around, squeaking and squealing loudly. Once or twice, Kelsie shot them a glare, her head beginning to pound. Major headache alert.

"I think our only choice is to go through. There's another cave we can through in the east, but it's longer, according to the map. Or we can double back." Kirralie folded up the map and helped Kelsie off a nearby rock.

"I'd prefer to keep moving forward." Kelsie replied glumly. "Cave it is." She hauled up her rucksack and called her pokemon. They stared at her, blearily, grumbling about being awoken. Especially Muzzy. But they trailed over to her, nonetheless, and followed her into the dimly lit cave, Kirralie and her pokemon closing up the rear.

* * *

_Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the egg, or Scott or evolving any other pokemon, it'll all happen before Kelsie and Kirralie arrive in Fuchsia. Yes, that's right, their trip isn't going to be straightforward. You didn't really think I'd make things simple now, did you? More of the unexpected will happen. Soon. Expect a few more slow fillers, however. I can't cram all of the exciting things in all at once._


	46. A hole in the floor

Their footsteps crunched on the loose grit as they tried their best to successfully navigate back out to open air. Kelsie had a constant feeling of being trapped and was on edge; jumping at every sudden sound her ears picked up on.

Union cave had been lighter than this. The few pools of water had somehow reflected light into the rocky cavern, illuminating the way forward. There were no pools of water here. The cave was filled with twists and turns, confusing many hikers, leading them into a trap of wild pokemon by the dozen. The annoying, ultrasonic bats hung from stalactites that protruded from the crumbling ceiling, watching people pass, and occasionally flew down, flapping their scaly wings in random faces. Kelsie stared at them wearily, covering her neck with her hoody, which she had draped over her back, so that it wasn't exposed and so the zubat couldn't extract her blood.

Kirralie was more unnerved by the stray giggling that echoed in the dimness. After every few steps, her ears picked up the faint, tinkling laugh and she would stop, often cause Kelsie to bump into her back with a groan. Perhaps Kelsie was right to be apprehensive of the cramped tunnels. The occasional rumble of a burrowing onix or steelix would cause the roof to crumble some more and the two girls and their pokemon would get covered in dust and grit, causing them to cough and, if unfortunate enough, to become momentarily blinded.

"How much further?" Kelsie's grumble was eerily loud, despite having whispered. The mysterious giggle followed and Kirralie heard light footsteps trail away to her left. She held an arm out to hush her companions and peered in the dimness cautiously.

"Skiploom, use flash." Kirralie whispered. Her squat, green flowery pokemon closed his eyes and focused. Light produced from him, so bright it blinded everyone in the vicinity.

"You're telling me you had a light source all this time and never used it?" Kelsie hissed, her palm shielding her eyes for protection. Muzzy grumbled at the skiploom, he was enjoying the dark.

"Would you like to stumble around, exposed and blinded?" Kirralie responded, mirroring Kelsie's shielding movement. "Waking zubat up so they can attack us, irritating the other pokemon, forcing them to attack too, alerting other trainers to our presence so we waste more time battling."

"Ok, I get your point," Kelsie muttered. "But you've already done that, just because you keep hearing things." Almost as if it wanted to prove Kelsie's point; a zubat screeched loudly, zooming over their heads. A flapping sound was gradually getting louder; Kelsie turned and vaguely made out a large mesh of blue and purple, heading their way. "Duck!"

She forced a confused Kirralie down to the floor, her yells still reverberating around the rocky shelter. Her pokemon flattened themselves beside the trainers and Kirralie's pokemon, who didn't need to duck being as they were pretty short anyway, just as a flock of zubat and their evolution flustered past overhead.

Footsteps echoed every which way, as trainers hurried towards them, amazed by the light and the zubat. Most were looking to battle; their hands reaching for pokeballs on their belts or in their pockets. "Quick!" Kirralie scrambled up, ignoring the dust and dirt covering her, and seized Kelsie's arm, pulling in the direction she had heard the laugh. Kelsie started to grumble that they were going to get even more lost, but Kirralie ignored her complaints. This was more important.

"If it's a trap, I'll kill you." Kelsie half-heartedly threatened, glancing at her three pokemon to pick which one she'd use. Flaaffy's electrical attacks seemed the best bet.

"Who'd want to trap us?" Kirralie responded. "No-one knows who we are."

"I don't know. The poachers?" But Kelsie gave up, knowing her argument was weak.

* * *

"Cut it out!" Chas swatted his partner, snatching the flashlight from his grasp. It flickered again, like the many times before when Anson kept switching it on and off out of boredom, before Chas slid the switch upwards, cutting the light. "We'll need it further in."

Anson sighed, scuffing his trainer against the bumpy surface of the ground. Dust clouds rose, covering his shoe in umber dirt, stone and bone particles. "I'm bored." He whinged, shuffling himself after the superior. "Why are we here?"

"You should really clean your ears out and pay attention." Chas snarled, searching the ground for an opening. The dust floating in the air tickled the back of his throat and he shot his companion a glare. Anson stared back innocently.

A giggle pierced the air, causing Anson to swivel round, squinting into the dusky light. His action caused some more particles to rise from the ground, flaring up Chas' coughing fit again. He shoved him forward, causing Anson to stumble forward and shielded his face from the cloud of dust his fellow traveller managed to stir. Again. "Keep still!"

Anson brushed the grime off of his clothes and muttered to himself. The giggle resonated again and a large, silhouette appeared before a stack of boulders nearby. Anson narrowed his eyes to try to get a better look, but he could only make out an outline. A rounded shape bulged from the slender figure; Anson guessed it was a tail of some sort. Further up, four spiky-shaped shadows were visible, three of them half-hidden behind, what looked-like, outstretched fingers. The silhouette shook as another giggle became audible. Anson took a step closer and caught a glimpse of pink before the shadow disappeared.

A hand cupped his arm, seizing hold of him and pulling backwards. He realized Chas had scared the pokemon away. It took him a while to realize that his superior was talking to him. "Running off… work to do!… Lazy, good-for-nothing… Here!" He let go and Anson fell to the floor with a bump. Beside him was a hollow pit, frayed rope knotted together to produce an unstable ladder. Anson glanced through the hole; the floor looked miles away in the poor light, darkness swallowing the surroundings.

A click and then a beam of light. The flashlight Chas had snatched illuminated the ground below, scaring away an axolotl. Dirt was thicker down there, pathways were narrower. "Go on then!" Chas prodded him with his boot, meaning for Anson to climb down first. Anson gulped, staring down the opening. "Now!" The booming voice caused the roof to crumble slightly and Anson hurried into the hole, burning his hands as the rope slipped through his fingers.

* * *

The blinding light continued to do its job; blinding Kelsie and illuminating the surroundings, as the two girls and eight pokemon carried on walking through the cave. They reached a dead end; a block of rubble separating two ends of the path. Kelsie sighed, they were getting nowhere and Kirralie kept insisting they follow the voices in her head.

Kirralie ignored her and looked around, her eyes watering from the lack of protection. A pink blur caught her eye and she turned again, just in time to see a pokemon run past. "Awesome! I've always wanted a clefairy!" She hurried after it, her skiploom waddling beside her to provide the light.

"A clefairy? Is that it? We got lost, just for a damn pokemon?" Kelsie grumbled loudly.

"You know, you sound just like-" Kirralie stopped talking, but it was too late, Kelsie had already gathered what she was getting at. Her face fell and she paled, her angry look dissolving rapidly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, forget I said that. I-" She was cut off again by the giggle. Kelsie heard it too.

Both of them turned, but it wasn't the clefairy Kirralie had longed for. Its evolution, instead, faced them, pointing at a hole in the floor, hidden away in the corner.


	47. Fossils and moonstones

_Had to put it, 'cos it cheered me up. Syzdoth- Kelsie apologises for not waving to Tobius, she wasn't in the mood. However, she wants to make up for it so… *waves*._

"This pokemon's mine!" Kirralie called for her bellsprout to use vine whip. Two long vines snaked their way towards the clefable and whipped her stomach. The clefable cried out and turned to run, but bellsprout managed to trip her up and wrap her vines around her pink body, stopping any escape plan.

Kelsie left her to it. She felt sorry for the pokemon, being as it seemed to help them find a way out, but she was far too interested in the hole. Was the way out really down there? She peered down; the ladder descended into darkness. It didn't look safe, stray frays were poking out of the rope and it was held there only by a few threads. They would be lucky if it held just one of them.

"Kirralie," She called out, Kirralie was still trying to capture the clefable. The clefable; now no longer scared, as she realized the trainer wasn't attacking her, but trying for capture, was giving it her best shot too. She was no weakling, an unconscious pichu was proof of that. "I'm going now."

Kirralie paid no attention, perhaps she couldn't hear over the shrieks. A few geodude had joined in, out of boredom, and Kirralie's bellsprout was now whipping her vines at the boulders. Togepi was waving her miracle hands at the pink fairy-thing. Kelsie sighed and lowered herself into the hole.

"Poli?" Polly was looking at her trainer, a worried expression on her face. Flaaffy seemed to share the same concern, both felt their trainer shouldn't disappear alone.

"Don't worry, she'll follow us after." Kelsie hooked her foot onto the fourth rung and grabbed the top one. She looked up, startled, at the snapping noise; one of the threads had broken. "If she can." She chuckled, weakly. Her pokemon, Muzzy excluded due to the fact that he was still stumbling about blindly, showed more concern. "Seriously guys, she has her bellsprout to lower her down."

Her other foot joined the first and she began to climb down. The poliwag and flaaffy watched as the darkness swallowed her. "Poli, poliwag." Flaaffy nodded and fired a thundershock down the hole.

"Hey! That almost hit me!" Kelsie's voice sounded distant, an anxious look on her face as the darkness subsided temporarily. She looked up and shot a scolding look at her pokemon. A big mistake. Her foot slipped, missing the last rung, and her hands seared with pain as the rope sliced across her palms whilst she fell. There was a thud, dust rising up through the top of the whole. Her pokemon spluttered, crying out in fear. Nothing, then… "Ow!"

"Fiii!"

"I'm fine!" Kelsie's distant echoes insisted. "I'm… hang on!" She fumbled with the pokeballs on her belt and plucked one. A red beam only just made it the depth of the hole and managed to return her poliwag. "Flaaffy, get Muzzy, Kirralie and the rest over here please, I can't see!"

The sheep nodded, unbeknownst to Kelsie, and skipped over to the fluffy venonat. She tried her best to explain, but Muzzy was too bothered about the light to listen. Instead, flaaffy had to headbutt the fluff ball to the hole for him to be zapped away too.

Kirralie understood better. She was looking pretty pleased with her new capture and many defeats. A pile of rubble, that were once conscious geodudes, surrounded her and her battered-looking pokemon.

"What are you doing down there?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice. Kelsie blinked, rubbing her eyes, as the strong light blinded her once again.

"Can you just get down here please? I think this is the way out. Ask your new pokemon."

"I can't," Kirralie replied, testing out the ladder's strength with her foot. Another thread snapped. "She fainted." Kelsie's mutterings drifted off. "This ladder isn't safe."

"I know. Use bellsprout."

"Good thinking."

Soon, Kirralie had joined Kelsie down below. Space was restricted down there, so Kelsie returned flaaffy and bought out Polly. Her water attacks would fair the best against most pokemon in the cave. Kirralie kept out bellsprout and, obviously, skiploom. The stubby flower-thing lead the way, Polly behind her, then the two trainers and bellsprout bringing up the rear. Kelsie had shredded up a scarf, soaked the rags with Polly's water gun and then wrapped them round her palms to ease the burning pain. Kirralie giggled at the story.

* * *

The flashlight wasn't providing them with much light. A small circle of white appeared in front of them as they walked, providing them to check for holes or wild pokemon. In order to see anything else, the flashlight had to be shone around them; whirled above their heads to check out the ceiling, shaken side to side for them to check out the walls. Because of that hindrance, it took them longer to get to their destination.

Anson took to muttering criticism about almost everything. The lack of light, the lack of oxygen, the multiple ways in which they could die underground, the pokemon, his partner. Chas swatted blindly behind him, but didn't bother to hiss any warnings. He was far too focused on trying to see in the dark.

Finally, he stopped. Anson, still not paying attention, carried on walking and ended up slamming into Chas' back. Both men rubbed their sores and Chas shot his companion a hidden glare, mumbling a few words himself.

"Why did you stop?" Anson grumbled, shielding his eyes as Chas shone the dimming light onto his face.

"We're here."

"It looks the same." Anson glanced around, proving his point. Mind you, all he could see was the dark, and often a tiny pinprick of light way ahead.

Chas wasn't impressed by his humour. Especially when he pretended to cower and cry, asking if Chas had brought him all the way down here to kill him. He smacked him round the back of the head and thrust the flashlight in his hand, jerking it to the left to show him the floor. Steps, leading downwards. He yanked Anson after him, down the steps and pushed him aside. Anson lifted the flashlight's beam and it illuminated a crevice in the wall.

"A crack? Is that it?"

"No! You insolent little…" He snatched the torch back and stomped forward, outstretching his hand into the fissure. His fingers met thick layers of dust and cobwebs, before scraping over a rugged surface. He traced the smooth imprinted grooves, a smile appearing on his face, before searching for the side and tugging the fossil free. He threw it to Anson, who barely caught it, and barked at him to put it in his rucksack. Anson hurried to do so, squinting at its design. He could just make out a spiral outline, smooth linear grooves embedded in the design.

"What is it?" He asked, storing it safely away.

"It's going to make us rich." Chas smirked, tugging at another. This one was more of a shell, carved from concrete. He chucked that one at Anson too and forced his hands back into the crevice, digging around for more. "We'll sell them in Pewter, there's a museum there who'll pay a fortune for these fossils."

"But I thought we were on a mission for Vasseur. That's what you said."

Chas took his time to respond. He concentrated on his search for a while, but eventually he struck gold. Well, amber. He pulled out the oval-shaped chunk of fossil resin, his eyes gleaming. "We are Anson." He grinned, turning the sticky, smooth amber in his hands. "We are."

* * *

The path seemed to go on for ever. Kelsie's hands throbbed and before long, the soles of her feet joined them. She winced at each step, pressure building on her raw skin. She knew she was going to have blisters tomorrow.

Kirralie slumped behind her, her back aching from the new weight of her camping gear. She usually travelled light, preferring to wash her little amount of clothes every time she stopped at a pokemon centre and carry only enough food for her pokemon on her short trips. This was different. She was forced to carry camping gear and stock up on a lot of supplies as they knew they were going to have to camp out more than once. The added weight was extremely noticeable.

"Are we almost there?" She puffed, pulling her slouching posture up straight and feeling her back click painfully.

Kelsie giggled at the role reversal, but turned with a sombre look. "Doubt it." She was met with a sigh and turned back to carry on walking. Only skiploom and Polly had stopped. "What's wrong?"

They shot her stern looks, hushing her and pointing ahead. Skiploom ended his flash as the two girls strained their ears.

"Now where are we going?" The heard, the voice belonging to a man. Something stirred in both of the girls minds- they knew that voice.

"Cinnabar. We need to resurrect this fossil." Was the reply from another recognisable voice.

"To sell it?"

"No."

"I'm confused."

There was a sigh. "Never mind. I'll explain once we're outside." The two girls heard footsteps and they flattened themselves against the wall, expecting the owners of the voices to squeeze past. Except they didn't. The footsteps died off and soon they were left in silence.

"Where did they go?" Kelsie hissed, Kirralie shrugged, an odd expression on her face. "What?"

"I know those voices," She answered. "But I can't think where from." They set off again, ignoring the stone steps, and soon reached another ladder, leading upwards. Obviously that was where the two men had disappeared to.

The new ladder looked sturdier, as though it had recently been replaced. It couldn't have been the two men ahead, Kelsie had concluded, as they would have caught up with them, due to the fact that they would still be constructing it by the time they had arrived.

However, Kirralie had preferred the idea of bellsprout hauling them out, especially due to the sate of Kelsie's hands, and had tossed her pokeball through the opening. Kelsie was grateful, but hadn't enjoyed the experience.

No longer underground, but still in the cave, the girls continued forward. The space had once again become roomy and confusing, but Kelsie had decided it might be best to walk straight forward. Things had been going well until she had spotted a pile of rubble, posing as a wall, blocking the way forward. They were forced to turn right.

Annoyed, tired, sore and dirty, Kelsie had kicked the rubble in frustration, injuring herself further and causing a mini landslide. Part of the wall caved; dirt and stone crumbling away whilst Kelsie hopped around, clutching her foot, and Kirralie giggled, before noticing a strange grey shell-like stone.

She pulled it free and pocketed it, planning to examine it later.

Half-an-hour of more wandering later, the two girls stumbled out into the fresh air, greeted by the sound of hooting hoothoots who were returning to their nests, ready for bed. Dawn was forcing its way into the sky; the pinky-orange haze brightening the blanket of deep blue. Kelsie gasped at the amazement of them wandering around all night, whilst Kirralie gasped for a different reason altogether.

* * *

_The long grass occasionally rustled as the purple rats hurried through, running back to their hidey-holes or nests. Hoothoot were just starting to take flight, ready for their breakfast. And a teenaged girl, crimson haired, was making her way back home after visiting the professor in New Bark town._

_Two men, one with ice blue hair, the other with ebony, stood, hidden, in the shade of the trees, watching. "She's got pokemon." The ice-blue haired man hissed. "Our next victim?" His companion nodded and the scarred man stepped forward, tossing a pokeball in the girl's path._

"_Gengar." The purple ghost cackled, glaring menacingly at the frightened girl ahead. She froze, glancing around, but spotted only the gengar in front of her. _

_Before she could move or scream, a raspy voice called out, to her right; "Hypnosis!" Deep, hollow laughter followed, with words she couldn't comprehend, but the voice was clear. Everything dissolved away and became hazy, as she slumped to the ground, sleeping peacefully._

* * *

"What? What? Kiz, tell me!" Kirralie felt Kelsie's hands grip her shoulders and shake her back to her senses. "What's wrong?" She sounded urgent, worried.

Kirralie's face told her she should be. The colour had drained and her expression had become stricken. "Those voices…" She whispered hoarsely. Kelsie looked at her, frightened. "…The poachers."

* * *

_Whew. I apologise if it's rushed or rubbish, just had a rough day. I wanted to write to take my mind of things- terrible day. : ( _

_Never mind that though, stories have cheered me up and, thank you again Syzdoth, for that sweet little snippet that brightened my day. It's the little things that make me smile._

_Thank you to Frizz.22 (who seems to have the same taste that I do when it comes to pokemon fanfics, I've seen a few we both enjoy), Syzdoth (ditto with the previous statement, though different stories), WildCroconaw (the bad men are back!), ShadowJolteon (Don't worry, you'll see what James is up to pretty soon) and Mileyangel321 (Kelsie's replaced James' whining for now :S But Kirralie will be getting awesomer-if that's a word- soon.) I love you all for reviewing :) Yes, I actually spelt out love properly. Problem? Lol :)_


	48. An eggcellent discovery

Chas and Anson had pocketed the small fortune they made selling the two fossils and had promised each other to keep their mouths shut. The chunk of amber was dropped off at the pokemon lab in Cinnabar Island; the kindly scientist had been expecting them. Vasseur had persuaded, as well as threatened, him into hurrying along the transformation process.

Originally, the aerodactyl had been his back-up plan. But after Dawson and his brother returned from Seafoam Island empty-handed, Vasseur's hopes of using the elemental birds faltered. Instead, he focused on the perks of using rock-hard wings instead and thus had sent Chas and Anson on the case.

They had returned with good news. Vasseur shed a rare smile and set to updating Scott and Dawson. In the meantime, whilst they waited, Vasseur handed the two poachers a list, containing other specific pokemon he required for his plan.

* * *

They were too late. By the time they had rushed into the town, the poachers were gone. Panting, the two girls frantically searched the buildings, except the gym, to find only angry villagers who shooed them out of their houses instantly.

Defeated, the girls dragged themselves off to the pokemon centre to clean themselves up and take a rest.

Several hours later, earlier than Kirralie would have liked to admit, they wolfed down some lunch, fed their pokemon, and continued on their journey to Fuchsia. One thing Kirralie found extremely annoying, though Kelsie wasn't too bothered, was the lack of strong pokemon. As they stepped into Viridian Forest, only low-levelled caterpie and weedle were in sight. Her pokemon, her brand-new clefable with them, left a trail of unconscious pokemon behind them as they weaved their way through the thorny branches and muddy grass patches.

Not to be deterred, Kelsie lead the way, cheered by the thought of seeing her typhlosion soon. She partook in a spot of battling herself, mainly because it entertained her pokemon. Muzzy took to eating the smaller bugs, much to the girls' disgust. He stared at them, his huge eyes full of satisfaction, as he ate, creeping them out further.

"Kelsie, make your pokemon stop that!" Kirralie hissed, throwing the remains of her pidgey dinner aside, feeling sick, whilst Muzzy crunched noisily, green fluid dripping from his mouth. He wasn't allowed out of his pokeball after that, not until they were out of the forest.

Togepi, pichu and flaaffy were more than happy to gobble up what Kirralie and Kelsie left. Polly, bellsprout, skiploom and clefable, all vegetarians, turned up their noses, munching on their apples and berries. Full, Kelsie laid back on the ground trying to watch the sky through the trees. It was rapidly darkening, the day had sped past, due to the fact they had slept through the morning.

Kirralie finished erecting her tent and slumped onto the grass beside her friend. A nice, cool breeze was picking up around them and occasionally a twinkling star would break free off the canopy and shine down. Silence surrounded the group, wild pokemon, after earlier encounters, were steering clear and most of their pokemon were dozing off contentedly. Kirralie had just started to feel her eyelids droop, when;

_Crack… crack._

Startled, she bolted upright and turned to her right. Kelsie was already sat up, holding her pink egg in her hands, wide smile on her face, faint crack lines visible on the egg. Shell chipped away, tiny pieces at a time, wobbling occasionally in Kelsie's already shaking hands.

A little over an hour later, most of the shell had peeled away. A small arm had forced its way through, followed shortly by an even smaller leg. Noises could be heard, but neither girl could quite make out the pokemon's cry.

Polly and clefable, the only two pokemon awake, aside from Kelsie's occasionally shaking pokeball containing Muzzy, crept closer to watch the egg hatch too. Clefable was acting especially excited, pointing at the pink colouring of the limbs in sight. She was hoping for a little cleffa she could look after.

After both arms and legs had broken free, the egg glowed the evolutionary white light and faded, revealing a small, round pokemon, a smile on her cute face.

"Buff! Iggly!" She cried, pirouetting. Her whole body was the same pale pink the egg had been, her legs; stubby little points sticking out of her rounded physique. There was a small swirl pattern on her forehead, just below a small tuft of hair. Her amber eyes stared, big and wide, right past the two girls and the two pokemon, staring at the mixture of pink skin and white wool that was flaaffy. "Iggly!"

Her stubby legs ran forward until she tripped, rolling onto her rear and then bouncing the rest of the way. Her loud giggles resounded through the forest, waking the remaining pokemon. Flaaffy watched the ball heading towards her, her wool beginning to crackle with static. "No!" Kelsie cried, rushing forward and scooping up the bouncing igglybuff. "This is our newest member!"

Flaaffy stared at the crying bundle in her trainer's arms. She reached out and poked it, causing the pink ball to giggle once again. "She likes you flaaffy. I think it's the pink colouring you two share." Kelsie laughed. Kirralie's clefable 'humph'ed, looking upset about the fact the pink thing didn't prefer her.

* * *

Lysander, confident he was far enough from Fuchsia to be able to stop, fell back against a tree, closing his eyes in sheer exhaustion. He had been running non-stop for well over a day. It had almost been two days, in fact, since he had escaped death. He had forced himself to swim back to Fuchsia, hitching a ride from a friendly trainer and her lapras, and had kept to the town's outskirts, once back on land. By the afternoon, he had managed to escape the city and was running as fast as he could out onto the surrounding route.

By the next nightfall, after being on the run for almost twenty-four hours, he had reached the end of route thirteen and had managed to snaffle some poached magikarp from a friendly fisherman. Gulping down some water to wash the fish down, he rested his aching feet, closing his eyes for a few minutes.

Which quickly turned into hours.

With a yelp, he awoke, drenched in cold sweat. His nightmare had reminded himself of the danger he was in and he took off, once again. Cursing Scott Fletcher, Lysander hurried through route twelve, stopping every so often for a few minutes, keeping himself hidden by the foliage planted on the edge of the long fishing route. He was halfway through by the time nightfall had fallen again. At this rate, he was never going to be able to escape.

* * *

Not sleepy at all, Kelsie concentrated on training up her igglybuff. Although she wasn't the biggest fan of training, she felt bad that the pink ball was so far behind the rest of her team.

Kirralie went to bed. She watched Polly and flaaffy help igglybuff adjust to her moves for a while, stifling yawns, but it soon got too much for her. She bade Kelsie and her pokemon goodnight and then crawled into her crowded tent, nestling up beside her baby pokemon and resting her head on clefable's stomach.

Igglybuff showed more interest in dancing and singing than battling. She was a performer. If loud enough, her beautiful singing voice caused nearby pokemon to feel drowsy or even fall asleep, but mostly she kept it to a reasonable pitch. Kelsie enjoyed watching her spin around and around, spewing lyrical 'igglys'.

Every so often, flaaffy managed to capture the little pokemon's attention and make her interested, for a few minutes, in battling. She would belly-flop onto a random prey and then start bouncing off, elapsing into a fit of giggles. Flaaffy would set her upright and then flop back down, sighing, continuing to attack wild pokemon alone.

By morning, she had evolved again. Kelsie, only a little tired from staying up all night, had squealed excitedly, mimicked by igglybuff, who started hiccupping. Which started the bouncing fit again. The four females laughed and Kelsie handed her baby pokemon a flask of water. Igglybuff gulped it down, smiling gratefully.

Kirralie stirred from her tent, waking from the noise. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and stuck her head out of the tent, coming face to face with a tall, yellow pokemon with black stripes decorating the neck, ears and tail. It was beaming at the shocked girl, the sunlight causing the two red, crystal-like structures, on the head and tail of the pokemon, to gleam.

"Aaaargh!" Kirralie screamed, falling backwards. Ampharos and her trainer laughed.

* * *

_Another filler before a big plotline :) _

_Sorry the egg took so long to hatch. I knew what I wanted straight away, but couldn't find the right time to hatch it. Kelsie doesn't particularly want to be a trainer and never showed much interest in catching pokemon, so I didn't want to give her a full team. Anyway, it's hatched now. And it's going to evolve quickly too, to get it out of the way. Jigglypuff's evolve from happiness anyway and she's pretty happy performing._

_I'd also like to add- Thank you to my newest reviewer- Stonekipsta- for reviewing, adding an alert and favouriting :) You rock! Just like everyone else :)_

_The next chapter will be much more action packed, I promise, I just wanted to get the egg out of the way._


	49. Typhlosion's bleeding, broken heart

Awake, though slightly miffed at how she was awoken, Kirralie packed up her stuff with Kelsie and followed her through the rest of the forest. Amazed at how she could trudge on with such little sleep, she took to checking if Kelsie was ok, every five minutes or so, until Kelsie had insisted, rather firmly, that she was fine.

Until they reached Pallet town.

Surprisingly, the journey only took them the rest of the morning and a little of the afternoon. Muzzy trailed after the group, after finally being let out, on the promise that he didn't freak Kirralie out anymore. He had reluctantly agreed and had taken to hiding at the back, on the lookout for reasons to break his promise. After all, the two girls would never find out, unless they had eyes in the back of their head.

Polly, bellsprout and clefable led the way, skipping merrily along, scattering the stray pidgey and rattata that were in their path. The rest were all over the place; to the side of their trainers, behind them or in front. Ampharos had the little igglybuff dancing all around her.

Pallet town was the smallest town Kelsie had come across so far. There were only a few buildings scattered around the luscious meadow-like terrain. One of which consisted of Professor Oak's laboratory, towering over the sea and the sweep of sand posing as a beach. The houses paled in comparison. Their dull colouring brought shame against the brightness and vividness of the lab.

It managed to capture Kirralie's attention. She gazed in awe, mumbling something about maybe meeting Professor Oak. Kelsie, on the other hand, had walked straight past the metallic construction and had stared, in resentment and rage, at the frothing waves that lapped the sand at her feet. It's captivating beauty, as the ultramarine crystal drops glistened in the shining sun, alluring folk to dive into its depths, had no effect on Kelsie. She picked up a nearby rock and, screaming in frustration, threw it with all her might, scaring the oceanic pokemon below. It plunged into the watery depths with a loud plop, alerting Kirralie and the pokemon of the crying girl huddled on the sand.

"I'm sorry." Kirralie knelt down and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I thought it was just a stream or something. The map showed only a slight patch of water." Kelsie's sobs died down slightly, raising her head to show a worried Kirralie that she didn't blame her.

"It's going to take even longer to reach him now. What if we don't make it in time?"

"We will, there's a shortcut to Vermillion city." She helped Kelsie up and dug into her pocket for a tissue. Kelsie took it gratefully, forcing a smile to show her concerned pokemon that she was ok.

They did their best to cheer their trainer up as they trekked back to the start of Viridian Forest, where Diglett's Cave was hidden. Igglybuff even showed interest in attacking stray pokemon, until Kelsie reassured her that it was ok if she didn't want to fight. She wasn't going to love her any less. In fact, it suited her better, as, once this adventure was over, she wasn't going to be a trainer anymore.

Goodness knows what she would do with her other three pokemon.

These words made igglybuff immensely happy. And although Kirralie thought it was slightly premature, igglybuff began to glow. She grew in size, but only a little, and her round body grew two pointy ears. The tuft of hair on her head drooped, becoming a fringe and her amber eyes changed to azure.

"Jigglypuff."

"Wait a minute… You only got her yesterday!" Kirralie cried, her jaw dropping in amazement. "You can't do that!"

(_I can and I will 'cos it's my story, in fact, just for that…_)

Muzzy began emanate the same white glow. Instead of growing, he shrank; sprouting four scaly wings. His purple colouring lightened and he became more of a lilac colour than aubergine. In fact, he no longer looked like a big ball of fluff, he now resembled a moth. He flittered his wings, a scared and confused look on his face, and flew over to hide behind Kelsie.

"Hey!" Kirralie huffed. "That is not fair!"

(_Will you just let me get on with the story? Just to stop her moaning, Kirralie's bellsprout had evolved too, into the bell-shaped plant that was weepinbell. Wing-like leaves sprouted, acting as ears.)_

So, Kelsie, Kirralie, weepinbell, togepi, pichu, skiploom, clefable, seel, ampharos, Polly, Muzzy the now venomoth and Jigglypuff entered Diglett's Cave. Jigglypuff's entertainment ensured they could navigate through safely, as her singing managed to lull the burrowing creatures to sleep. Unfortunately, on several occasions, it managed to have the same effect on Kirralie and Kelsie's pokemon. The situation was resolved, however, by the two girls returning the rest of their pokemon, though they did so reluctantly.

After two long hours of trudging through more mud; the two girls emerged on the outskirts of Vermillion, which was blanketed in darkness.

"Why is it that the evening comes so quickly?" Kelsie moaned, becoming angry for the second time that day. If she had her way, she would stop only when she needed to, but Kirralie insisted they stop at night, in order to rest themselves and their pokemon. Kelsie didn't need to rest. It wasn't important. But for the sake of her pokemon, she did as she was told.

They were lucky enough to nab the last room in the pokemon centre. It was crowded with the ten pokemon and the two girls, but both were content enough. Kelsie because she knew she wouldn't be spending long there, and Kirralie because she enjoyed having her pokemon out of their spherical devices.

* * *

Wheezing, Lysander fell to the ground, kissing the gravel, tears of happiness leaking from his eyes. "I made it!" He sobbed, forcing the breath out of his lungs. "I finally made it!"

Ducking and weaving, making sure he had kept himself hidden at all times was hard work. Given the time he allowed for resting, he had made it to Lavender town in short of two days. He was still in danger of being caught, but less so, given the distance between himself and Vasseur.

He pulled himself up and staggered across the gravel path, heading towards the next route so he could rest on the comfy grass, hidden away from the passers-by. He was parched. His water source, for the past two days, had been handfuls of water from the stream leading down to the sea, or anything he could beg off of strangers. His food had been berries plucked from bushes and, more than once, raw magikarp. Hidden behind a prickly bush, nursing his bleeding feet, he had nothing.

Gasping, he glanced back over his shoulder, wondering if Nurse Joy would be kind enough to spare him a morsel or two and tend to his poor feet. Maybe even let him bathe in a warm bubble bath. He sighed, caught up in the dream of luxuries, and forced himself to his feet once again.

* * *

Kelsie, though had insisted she didn't need to sleep, must have been more tired than she had thought. As soon as her head had hit the pillow, she had sparked out, falling into a dreamless sleep. Kirralie smiled, feeling a slight relief wash over her; she had been worried about her friend, ever since the day they had left. At least Kelsie finally sleeping was one ease off her mind.

* * *

_**Drip… Drip…**_

_Kelsie sat up, awoken from the noise. She rubbed her eyes, before taking in her surroundings. She didn't recognise this place. Had Kirralie hauled her further along whist she had slept?_

_She stood up, shivering. Goosebumps covered her arms, brought out by the freezing wind whirling around her. Her eyes hadn't fully adjusted yet, or maybe it was the weather; a thick, swirling mist obscured her view._

_**Drip… Drip…**_

"_Hello?" Kelsie's voice echoed eerily, as she called out to find out where Kirralie and their pokemon where. A niggling inside her made her feel uneasy, the lack of reply increased her fears- she was all alone. She hugged herself, the goosebumps now growing for a different reason._

_**Drip… Drip…**_

_She whirled around this time, as soon as the dripping reached her ears. She had been expecting it. Some of the haze drifted aside and Kelsie walked forward, her bare foot steeping in something warm and wet._

_Blood._

_She looked down in fear, the trickle of dark liquid was coming from the obscured path ahead. It was streaming down the grey floor, which Kelsie had assumed was concrete path, staining the way. A puddle, gradually increasing in size, was forming underneath. Until Kelsie had stepped in it. It had now become a bloodstained foot print._

"_Hello?" Kelsie called out again, much more fearful this time. "Is anyone out here? Are you hurt?"_

_No reply._

_Braving the mist, Kelsie pressed on. Her eyes met white wisps, blood warming her toes, as she found nothing. She walked further. Her foot made contact with something big and furry, and she fell forward, landing painfully on her knees. She cried out in pain, rubbing the grazed skin, and pulled herself back up, turning to see what had caused her trip._

_An blood-curdling scream flew from her mouth as she stared at the bleeding bulk on the floor. A gaping hole in the chest was the cause, a thumping heart, somehow still beating, was beside the poor creature in another pool of blood_

_She stared at the bloody mess, mourning, sinking to her sore knees and resting her head on the matted, navy fur. "No," She sobbed. "How could they?" Tears fell, fast and thick, forming into glittering crystals before splashing onto the typhlosion's .wound. The drops sealed it away into a scar and he stirred, shaking Kelsie off of him and standing up. "You've replaced me." He accused, ignoring his owner's gasp and pointing behind her. Confused, she turned to find ampharos, jigglypuff, Muzzy and Polly all laughing and playing with a shadow of herself. Kelsie noticed her smile, her laugh, how happy she was. "You don't need me anymore."_

"_That's not true!" She insisted, wheeling round. "I've searched for you everywhere! I need you!" _

"_You've replaced me." Came his repeated reply, as he backed away from her, blending in with the mist._

"_No! No, I haven't! Typhlosion please!" She started to cry again, but it was nothing compared to the saddened look on the typhlosion's face. It was as though someone had cut out his heart, and to prove his point, he nodded at the heart on the floor whose beats were weakening every second passing._

"_You don't need me anymore." And with that, he melted into the shadows, leaving Kelsie surrounded in the mist, her joyous laughter, she shared with her pokemon, ringing in her ears._

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

* * *

Drenched in clammy sweat, she woke up, gasping, dried tears crusting on her face. The clock beside her informed her that it was only three am. The wind outside howled, rattling the windowpane as the rain lashed against it.

She jumped out of bed, throwing on her clothes and stuffing anything out of her bag back in. She returned her pokemon and went to place the balls back on her belt before freezing and looking down. _You've replaced me…_

It was so clear she jumped, glancing over her shoulder. "No I haven't." She said firmly, throwing disgusted looks at the four pokeballs she had now placed on her bed. "You're my one and only." She picked them up and stuffed them in Kirralie's bag. Tightening a raincoat around her, she whispered goodbye to her friend and left, running out of the pokemon centre and fleeing Vermillion city, determined not to stop until typhlosion was safe.

* * *

_Yeah, I got bored and made a bunch of pokemon evolve (*^^,*) I was going to delete it, but I thought it made good humour, so therefore it stays._

_*Gasp* What did you think of that then? Are you all amazed? _


	50. Happy 50th chapter! The return of James

_50__th__ chapter woo! Happy 50__th__ chapter LSI!_

"James… Please pick up…"

Kirralie had awoke pretty early for once. Perhaps it was because she was so used to Kelsie shaking her awake so that they could continue on her way. Or perhaps it was the sound of the rain thundering against the window and the occasional clashes of thunder.

The first thing that came to mind as she gathered her bearings, was the question of why wasn't Kelsie shaking her awake now? The alarm clock on the bedside table told her that it was eight am. An hour over Kelsie's usual waking time.

"Kelsie?" Kirralie turned to face the empty bed beside her. It took her a few seconds to register the covers thrown back and only a few stray hairs on the pillow. No body. Her pokemon were gone too. And her bag.

"Kelsie!" She jumped out of bed, searching the room, though she knew it was pointless. Her pokemon jerked awake at the commotion, blinking in confusion at her trainer, as she ripped open the door and ran down the hallway in her pyjamas.

After her panicked searching, Kirralie had dressed and whilst stuffing her stuff back in her bag, had come across four pokeballs that hadn't been there before. Pressing the buttons, jigglypuff, ampharos, Muzzy and Polly materialized before her.

"Jig…gly?" Jigglypuff's smile faltered, pausing in mid-spin, disappointed that it was Kirralie in front of her, not her trainer. "Jiggly, jigglypuff!" She puffed out her cheeks. The others noticed that their trainer wasn't around too. They glanced around, but all they could see was the room they fell asleep in, the pokemon they travelled with and the other trainer, who was sitting on the bed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh god no…" She uttered. "No, no, no, no, no." She picked up her phone and dialled Kelsie's number. The bedside table vibrated loudly and Kirralie opened the drawer to find the ringing phone. "Crap."

All ten pokemon stared at her, waiting for an explanation. Jigglypuff had taken to her own exploring; crouching down to look under the bed, desperate for her trainer to jump out and surprise her. The fact that she didn't set the pink ball off bawling, hurrying over to ampharos and clutching her leg.

Kirralie didn't want to tell them the truth. It was far too harsh. Part of her didn't fully understand the reasoning, but part of her, right under the surface, knew it was all down to getting typhlosion back. How could she leave the rest of her team behind?

It was something she would never be able to understand.

"She's disappeared." She whispered, not daring to look at the three faces staring at her and the crying jigglypuff who was digging around in her bag, searching still for her trainer. "It must have been important, she loves you all very much, you know that." She wasn't sure if they were buying it, Muzzy certainly looked angered. Jigglypuff's angry squeaks became more muffled as her round body disappeared, fully, inside the large backpack. "Jigglypuff! Stop that! I'm trying to tell you some…" The ever-so-familiar bright light was back as Jigglypuff's hands brushed past the grey rock at the bottom of Kirralie's bag. "…thing."

She managed to scurry out before growing, her rounded physique shaping out into a more normal shape. Her ears elongated, becoming more rabbit-like. Her stomach was now a white colour, her eyes now green. Kirralie groaned, another evolution. "Wiggly." Jigglypuff, now a wigglytuff, was smiling, though the sadness was still in her eyes. (_A/N: Reason for choosing igglybuff- wigglytuff. Originally, just igglybuff was going to evolve, but I had this brilliant picture of Kelsie surrounded by her fully evolved pokemon in my mind, so therefore my reasoning is over. *Spoiler* I don't plan on reuniting Kelsie and her pokemon any time soon, so I had to push the evolutions through. And this note is interrupting my story to explain that, so you all don't think 'Jeez…')_

"Anyway, we're going to find her, she's going to be sorry, you're going to forgive her and everything will be great." Kirralie informed them; Polly, wigglytuff and ampharos nodded, though Muzzy still looked doubtful. "I hope."

Which was why she had dialled James' number. She needed his help.

* * *

The rain hadn't dampened her spirits at all. If anything, it had made her more determined. By dawn, she had managed to reach Saffron again, covered in mud and drenched to the bone. Only having her pokegear to rely on, as Kirralie was the navigator, Kelsie had to take frequent breaks to figure out her way forward. The pokegear wasn't very accurate when it came to specifics. Mind you, the map hadn't been all that reliable either.

Not so pleased with her progress, Kelsie pressed on. For the first time in three days, the lack of sleep was taking its toll on her. Her legs felt like lead; held down by the soggy weights of her trousers, making it hard to hurry along. More than once she had fell forward, landing in the mud, wanting to remain lying on the floor and fall asleep.

Teeth chattering, she forced herself to continue, leading herself to believe that if she stopped the lightning would strike, frying her to death.

She staggered through Saffron city, receiving strange looks from the townsfolk, mainly due to being covered in a huge amount of mud. She ignored them, grateful for the rain letting up and the sun breaking free of the clouds, and turned right, heading out onto route eight. She stumbled on a stone, twisting her ankle and fell to the floor. Exhausted, she collapsed.

* * *

"Yello, this is James." He sounded happy enough. Kirralie wondered how many badges he had now and how his pokemon were. "Hello?"

"Oh," Kirralie snapped out of her daze, removing her thumb, that she was chewing on, from her mouth. "James hi, it's Kirralie."

"How did you get my number," Things went quiet, apart from an odd crackling noise, and then James' voice reappeared. "Why are you calling from Kelsie's phone?"

"Because I don't have your number." Kirralie answered, sighing impatiently. "Listen James, I need to-"

"Can I speak to her? Is she still mad?"

"Actually, she's not here."

Silence fell, apart from the background noise on James' side. Some trainers were obviously battling; Kirralie could hear two males shouting out commands. There was the occasional cry of a pokemon too, whether it was from the battling ones or wild ones, Kirralie didn't know. For the second time, she wondered where he was.

"Did she tell you to say that?" James was back, Rex could be heard sniffing around him, Kirralie imagined James swatting him away. "C'mon Kirralie, just let me apologise!"

"No, she-" Tears dripped down her cheeks, her pokemon cuddled up to her, feeling sad too. She had returned Kelsie's. James' cheeky demeanour faded, sensing something was wrong.

"Kirralie?"

"She ran away!" Sniffing, Kirralie managed to explain what she knew.

"I'm on my way." James gabbled and hung up before Kirralie could respond.

She took a few minutes to clear her head and then left the room, exiting the pokemon centre, sitting on a nearby bench to wait for James, however long he would be.

* * *

Surprisingly, it didn't take him long. Fearow was a pretty skilled flier and Mahogany town was quite close to the crossover between Johto and Kanto, give or take a few towns in between.

He jumped from his pokemon's back, just as fearow was coming to land and gave Kirralie a half-hearted grin. His hair had grown quite a bit; becoming a rugged, shaggy mane. It suited him. He had grown a few inches too and he obviously hadn't gone shopping as the bottom of his trousers flapped around his ankles. If things were different, Kirralie would have dragged him to the nearest shop and forced him to buy some fitting clothes.

Instead, she ran forward and seized him around the waist, burying her head into his chest, tears escaping yet again. James patted her, awkwardly, on the head, feeling embarrassed. "Hey, it'll be ok. We'll find her." He said, certainty in his voice. Kirralie nodded, wiping her eyes.

"We should split up. You go through Saffron and check out route eight, I'll go this way." Kirralie pointed past Diglett's Cave. James nodded, climbing back onto his fearow's back. Kirralie released Kelsie's pokemon to help her look and set off. James stared after them, gawping in amazement at the fact that Kelsie's egg had hatched and evolved so quickly. Not to mention flaaffy and Muzzy's evolutions. He felt surge of guilt; if he hadn't been so stubborn he could have shared those joyous moments too.

Fearow took off, keeping low so James could get a good look at the path below. Plenty of girls looked the same to him, brunettes weren't exactly rare. It only took the bird a few minutes to reach Saffron and James asked him to circle the skies, so he could get a good look at the town. However, it wasn't very accurate. James was forced to search on foot. He returned fearow and brought out his newly evolved houndoom to sniff out her scent. He lead him in the direction of the pokemon centre. Worried, James rushed inside, just in time to see Kelsie thank Nurse Joy and turn to leave.

"James?" She sounded terrible. In fact, she looked terrible too. She had dark circles under her eyes and she had scrapes on her arms from falling over. She didn't seem too pleased to see him.

She was happy to see Rex though. She gave him a quick stroke before pushing past and leaving. James hurried after her, catching up with her just in time, before she disappeared out on route eight. "Hold up." James grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She stumbled on her sore ankle and ended up falling against his chest. She pulled away, disgusted, trying to run off, but his grip was too strong. "They're all worried about you," He told her, forcing her to look him in the eyes, she twisted her face away, refusing. "**I **was worried about you."

"Bull." She spat. "All you care about is yourself. If you really cared you'd be here, with me, helping me."

"Incase you haven't noticed, I **am** here." He laughed, but the cold glare from Kelsie sobered him up. "Kelsie, this isn't you."

"And how would you know?" Her voice rose, people turned their heads, staring. She didn't care, she didn't seem to notice. "You don't know me at all! If I hadn't washed up on your beach, we would have never met! And I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Would you just listen!" James' voice grew louder too. "I know you're angry, I know you're upset, but you can't take it out on us. Me, Kirralie, your pokemon. We want to help you."

"Bullshit!" Kelsie spat again, jerking free of his grasp. "If you wanted to help, you wouldn't have stayed behind. You're just a selfish-"

"Who's being selfish now?" James yelled back. Kelsie shut up, staring at him in disbelief. "You're the one who just abandoned her pokemon. And for what?" He shrugged, sighing. "I know how you must be feeling, but be patient, we'll get there. If it means that much to you, I'll stay. I'll help too."

_Slap!_

James staggered back, reeling from the blow Kelsie had delivered. "You know nothing!" She cried, tears rolling down her face. She shook her head at him as he held a hand up to his cheek, feeling how sore it was. "And to think, I actually liked you." She took off.

James stared after her, still reeling. Rex howled. His cheek began to sting as it glowed red and he dug into his pocket for his mobile. "It's no use," He said, emotionless. "She's gone."


	51. Cat and mouse

_Hey my awesome readers! Firstly- I apologise for those who now dislike Kelsie for leaving her pokemon. Erm… I can't really defend her 'cos I understand how you feel, but in her defence, six years is a long time. To cheer you up, I thought I'd tell you that she rethinks her actions and pleads with them to forgive her. Though that won't be till later. Right now the evil authoress has plans for her :) _

_As for James. He is now currently staying to help search/ carry out Scott's plan. Too little too late maybe, but surely it proves he truly cares for Kelsie. Does anyone want them to end up together? Let me know, though I do know whether they will or not._

_And last, but certainly not least! A big thank you to my newest reviewer- E Muja EN -KittenThatAteSora- you join those who rock!_

_Onwards now…_

"What do you mean it's too late?" Kirralie yelled, storming down the dirt track leading into Saffron. Rex raised his head from the ground, rolling over onto his paws and standing up. James remained seated. His cheek still stung, mainly from the tears that had rolled down on to it and added to his pain. "You're telling me you had her here and let her go again?" She stopped a few feet away and folded her arms. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not." James mumbled, quickly wiping his eyes and running a hand through his mane of hair. "Lets just go." His pokemon, two new additions included, that he had let out to give them fresh air, jumped up as he did and followed him through the town. Kirralie called after him, noting a short black pokemon, with red feathers decorating the left ear and back and a big pink pokemon with yellow markings on its belly and knees. Its ponytail-like tail was pink too, just like the long tongue trailing along the floor.

"New pokemon?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood, though her observations were obvious. Oddish, fearow and Rex were all James had the last time they had seen each other. "How many badges have you got?"

"Only two more. To both questions." James replied, after asking Rex to pick up Kelsie's scent again. "How did you get a wigglytuff? Or is it Kelsie's?" He looked back over his shoulder. Despite its height, the wigglytuff still acted like the tiny igglybuff it had been two days ago; singing and clutching ampharos. The only difference was that her song was sad, not its usual upbeat melody.

"Yeah, she's Kelsie's." Kirralie noticed he had said is. Not was. Clearly he thought her abandoning her pokemon was only temporary, just like she did. Somehow, she couldn't quite picture Kelsie as the selfish, abandoning type. "It's a long story." She forced a chuckle, though it came out more as a strangled cry. James looked at her strangely. "You going to tell me why you were crying?"

James stopped, having reached the route Kelsie had ran off to, and returned Rex, oddish, sneasel and lickitung. He advised Kirralie to do the same, as he climbed onto fearow's back. He didn't answer her question.

Not wanting to press it out of him, Kirralie said no more and did as she were told. "I take it you want me to climb on him?" She asked, looking doubtful.

James nodded. "It might be a bit of a squeeze." He admitted. Fearow cawed, turning his head to give James an annoyed stare. "He's perfectly safe though." Kirralie watched as James made some space for her, ruffling fearow's feathers affectionately. She took his outstretched hand and allowed him to help her get seated, before fearow spread his wings and took off, causing the dusty track to stir at the beat of his huge wings.

* * *

There was still humanity in the world, after all.

Lysander left the pokemon centre looking better than he had when he had entered. Nurse Joy had been kind enough to let him stay the night, free of charge, eat to his heart's content and have a bubble bath. She took pity on his sorry state, especially when he had fallen to his knees, gasping for water. Two residing trainers had helped him to his feet, and on Nurse Joy's instructions, helped him into the canteen.

The chanseys had started throwing leftovers away, but they managed to salvage most of them. Lysander mumbled grateful thanks, his mouth filled with food, and gulped down glass after glass of refreshing lemonade. The trainers had laughed and left him to it. Nurse Joy had fussed over him, tending to his blistered feet.

He left, feeling happier than he had in days. There was no sign of Vasseur, Dawson or the other goon who had been instructed to do away with him. His worried feelings had changed to optimism, hoping that Scott had been found out and killed. If he wasn't pretending to help the pokemon out that was. It would serve him right. However, he still felt sorry for the pokemon.

Returning to route eight, Lysander decided to put all of that behind him, until he was out of Kanto. He would take the Magnet train to Johto, inform the police, and then take a ferry to some region far away. His train of thought was interrupted, however, when he collided with a teenaged girl, who was running as fast as she could, obviously escaping someone or something herself.

"Oof." Lysander fell backwards, landing on his rear. The girl had tripped and landed forward on her knees. Tears were dampening her cheeks, though Lysander suspected it wasn't due to her fall.

He stood up, dusted himself down and then held out a hand to the girl. It took her some time to realize. She was trying to catch her breath, face hidden behind a veil of her hair. She looked up, embarrassed and frightful, but took his hand. "Sorry." She mumbled, before starting to power-walk away.

"Are you ok?" Lysander called after her. She nodded, not bothering to stop. Lysander stared after her, bearing mixed feelings. He wanted to go after her; he felt she shouldn't be wandering alone, especially in her state. She didn't seem to have any protection of pokemon either. However, she was headed in the direction he had come from, the direction he didn't want to go back to.

"Hey…" He jogged after her, much to her annoyance. "Seriously, you sure you're ok? Where are you headed? Do you need any help?" She took her time to reply, staring at his face as she continued to walk, trying to tell if he was being genuine or not. He looked sincere. His heliotrope eyes sparkled in the sunlight, portraying his kind nature.

"I'm heading to Fuchsia," Kelsie told him, pausing only for a moment, before continuing to walk. "I have an important job to do there." She knew, as soon as she saw his face fall, that she had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry," She gabbled, matching his fearful look. "I have to go."

"Don't do it!" Lysander grabbed her wrist. They had reached Lavender town now. "Please, don't go work for him." He begged, Kelsie's face bore confusion as well as horror.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I have to go." She pulled free and turned to run, bumping into one of the trainers Lysander had met the night before.

He wolf-whistled, grinning at the two of them. "This your girlfriend eh Lysander?" He chuckled. Kelsie looked even more frightened at the thought. She pushed past him and took off. Lysander following.

* * *

"See anything?" James asked, craning his neck to look at all of the pinpricks down below. Behind him, Kirralie shook her head. "I think we need to go lower fearow." Fearow screeched, diving down. James felt Kirralie's nails dig deeper in his side as she whimpered. He chuckled; flying took some getting used to.

"I think we've gone too far." Kirralie mused, gazing out at the shimmering river. The platformed path contained only fishermen, who were now barking in anger at the two trainers, whose low-flying fearow was scaring off the magikarp and rarer water pokemon deep below the surface.

James agreed and fearow turned, heading back to Lavender town.

"Look! There!" They had been sat in silence for a short amount of time, until Kirralie had perked up, pointing to a girl resembling Kelsie's features and height, running away from a stranger.

"Who's that guy?" James asked, snarling.

"I don't know. James, take us down!" Kirralie barely waited for the landing. She leapt off fearow's back and landed like a cat, bending her knees and springing back up. She didn't wait for James either, but ran off, calling out to the girl ahead.

"Oh great." Kelsie muttered, shaking her head at her abysmal luck. First she ran into some guy operating the terrible scheme Scott had mentioned and now she was about to be confronted about abandoning her pokemon again.

"Kelsie!" Kirralie yelled, whinging slightly. "Wait!"

"Kelsie?" Lysander stopped. He vaguely remembered being told about some person named Kelsie, by Scott, of all people. He hadn't paid much attention at the time; he had been too busy trying to implement his own ideas about this plan of Scott's. Kelsie was a trainer or something, a possible candidate to help them save the pokemon. Realization spread over his face and he cracked a smile. At the time, he thought Scott had been talking bullshit. In front of him, was proof, however, that he was not.


	52. DundadundadaDA J and K to the rescue!

_My internet connection keeps going weird…_

It didn't mean he forgave him for handing him over, rather willingly at that. But, he was beginning to understand. Just a little bit.

He sped up, rushing past the other girl and the boy who had joined them, grabbed Kelsie's wrist as he passed and pulled her to the side, hiding in the foliage. Kelsie frantically scrambled round, spotting Lysander, her eyes wide with fear. She opened her mouth to scream, but Lysander put a finger to his lips, hoping to hush her.

"Please…" He whispered. "…Here me out…"

"Get off me!"

"Kelsie? Kelsie where are you? Who was that guy?"

"They went that way! In the bushes!"

The two other voices startled Kelsie into quieting down. She turned to face Lysander; a look of defeat obvious. She allowed herself to be pulled along willingly. He led her forward, ducking and weaving, disappearing just before Kirralie and James dove into the bushes.

"Scott sent you, didn't he?" Lysander asked, once he decided they were safely hidden. They had run almost half the length of the wooden fishing platform, until they had reached the gap, leading out to route eleven. There, Lysander had pulled Kelsie towards the opening and led her into the farthest bushes. He waited until he heard the sound of footsteps and rustling die down and then had turned to the trembling girl beside him. She was crying.

She didn't respond to his question, still believing that Lysander was the bad guy Scott had mentioned in his letter. How else would he know what she was up to? "I have to go." She mumbled, breaking free of his grasp and setting foot out of the bushes. A few nearby trainers ogled her way; wondering what sort of mischief she had been getting up to, hidden away in the shrubbery.

Kelsie ignored them and their gasps and giggles as Lysander climbed out behind her. She wanted to find Kirralie and James; their scolding would be better than death. Perhaps if she begged and pleaded enough, her pokemon would forgive her. She would have to try and make typhlosion understand. She, Kirralie, James and all their pokemon would save him together.

"Stop!" Kelsie gathered speed, hearing his voice. He caught up with her, forcing her round to face him.

"Get off me!" She cried, scrambling to get away. "Leave me alone!"

"Wait, please… Listen to me." Lysander pleaded. "I need your help, Scott needs your help." Kelsie's screeches drowned out his speech, the trainers who had giggled earlier now looked concerned.

"Is everything ok?" One of them asked, braving the commotion and coming over. His pokeballs dangled off velcro strips attached to his cape.

"Fine." Lysander insisted, still struggling to hold onto Kelsie to stop her from fleeing. She denied his words, cursing him loudly.

"He's evil, EVIL!" She panted. "He's trying to kill me."

Lysander forced a laugh, noticing that the trainer's face had become shocked. "Ignore her, she's had a scare. She needs her medication." He managed to gabble, before the boy could rip a pokeball free.

"Good luck." He gave Lysander a sympathetic look, his eyebrows still raised, and walked off, informing his friends of what Lysander had said.

"Kelsie, listen to me. I'm not who you think I am. I'm on your side."

"Oh please! I'm not stupid." She scoffed, spitting in his direction, hoping that the disgusting action would force him to let go. It didn't. He laughed slightly, informing her that she would have to worse than that. He had been threatened with death a few days ago, some saliva wasn't going to scare him away.

"I'm not surprised someone tried to kill you." She snarled, pushing Lysander away and running. Unfortunately, she had run out of platform and was teetering on the edge, staring at the glistening water below. "Your plan is twisted! Pokemon have done nothing wrong, they don't deserve to die!"

"I agree." Lysander said, approaching Kelsie slowly, not wanting to scare her any more. "Which is why we need your help to save them." He held out his hand, asking for Kelsie to trust him. She shook her head, still in disbelief, and took another step backwards, forgetting all about the lack of platform.

_Splash!_

They both ended up in the river. Lysander had hurried forward, to pull her back onto land, but had somehow toppled over with her. He spat out a mouthful of water, holding Kelsie up from under her armpits, to stop her from thrashing around and spluttering more than she had. He got the distinct impression she had a fear of water.

"I'm not the bad guy. I'm on Scott's side." He repeated, knowing that Kelsie would listen to him as he held her safe. Once informed, he would help her back onto the platforms, out of the water. "I need your help. Together, we will save the pokemon, put our plan into action. Are you with me?"

Kelsie gazed into his eyes again. She was still in two minds to trust him. But if they could find James and Kirralie, then her friends would help her out of trouble, if this stranger was lying. She nodded, but before she could say anything, a shadow cast over them and a sinister cackling was coming from above.

"Touching." Two men were leaning over the side, staring down into the water at Kelsie and Lysander. The taller of them didn't look amused, but the shorter one's green eyes had a hint of humour.

"Dawson." Lysander gasped, freezing in terror. The men lifted him and Kelsie out of the water; their strong arms holding them far too tightly to wriggle. Two pokemon were standing behind them, glaring menacingly, making sure they didn't escape.

In fact, Lysander realized he couldn't even move. One of the pokemon's eyes were glowing red, was it holding him, and Kelsie, in some sort of psychic lock? It was making the situation far too easy for the two brothers, allowing them to tie their hostages up without any struggle.

Once finished, Alistair turned to his brother. "The nice way or the nasty way?" He asked, Kelsie's eyes widened in fear. What was that supposed to mean?

"Nasty." Alistair grinned, picking up something from the floor. Kelsie hadn't noticed it before. He stepped forward, facing Lysander first, a hulking piece of wood in his grasp. She flinched, watching him whack the poor man over the head with a sickening smack. Lysander fell to the floor, his blood staining the wood, his hair and trickling down his face.

"Sorry." Kelsie looked up; his words contradicting his facial expression. He was grinning. It was the last thing she saw before she felt the sear of pain and blackened out too.

* * *

"We must have gone too far." James puffed, hacking the bush apart and failing to find anything. Just like the multiple bushes beforehand. "Again."

"You don't think that guy had a pokemon teleport them do you?" Kirralie asked, looking worried. Her face was dirtied from a mixture of leaf stains and tears. It was covered in scratches too. James suspected he looked no better.

"Na, he had no pokeballs." He scowled. "Who was he? What does he want with her?"

Kirralie turned to face him, her cheeks draining of colour. "You don't think…" James stared at her, waiting for her to finish. "You don't think he was the person that Mr. Fletcher guy was going on about? You know, in the letter." She dug in her bag, searching for it, but it wasn't there. Kelsie must have had it.

James' expression matched hers and he frantically scrabbled back into the foliage. "Kelsie?" His cries became more urgent. "Kelsie!"

"Ssh." Kirralie pulled him out, no later than five minutes after, placing a finger to her lips then pointing in the direction to their right. "Listen."

James strained his ears. He heard faint screams and yells, feminine ones. "Kelsie." He mouthed, Kirralie nodded. They hurried in the same direction, dashing round the corner and colliding with two men who were blocking the path, talking.

"Watch it!" One of them growled, pushing James into the shrubbery beside him. The other one hissed something inaudible and they held onto the pokemon in front of them. It was almost the same height as the two men; a face of a fox, a body of a human. It twitched the spoons in its grasp and disappeared, the two men holding onto its half golden, half brown body, disappearing alongside it.

Kirralie stared at the empty space, the three of them had once stood in, for a few seconds, her brow furrowed. What had that been about? James' struggling to resurface, rustling the broken leaves to attract Kirralie's attention, alerted her and she helped him up, staggering backwards at his weight.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine." James replied, muttering insults under his breath. He dusted twigs and bracken off of his clothes and then dashed down the raised platform again.

He came to a halt, not too long after, spotting the same two men, the pokemon and another, cackling, two drenched, limp bodies at their feet. Two bodies he recognised, one more so than the other.

Kirralie bumped into him, stopped before she could ask what the hold up was, by James' arm outstretching and his forefinger pointing at the group. Her loud gasp made the men aware of their presence and the spun round, clutching at a limp body each.

"You again." The same man growled, sending his pokemon forward. The salamander-like duck, coated in red and yellow flames, both real and design, opened its mouth a released a thick, black smoke.

James and Kirralie spluttered; the haze burning their eyes and filling their lungs, causing them to choke. Alastair and Dawson seized the opportunity to make their getaway, grabbing hold of the alakazam again and returning the magmar.

The smoke cleared, eventually, Kirralie and James gasping for clean air. It took some time for their eyes to adjust, handfuls of water soothing them helped. "They're gone." Kirralie slumped back down to the floor, looking crestfallen. But James had already brought out fearow and clambered aboard. "You should have brought him out earlier, cleared the smoke." Kirralie said, weakly, still feeling dismayed.

"Sorry, I was struggling to breathe, let alone think straight." James told fearow where he wanted to go and then held out his hand for Kirralie for the second time that day. "You coming?" He asked, causing her to raise her head.

"Where are we going?" She seated herself behind him, holding tightly onto his waist.

"Where do you think?" He grinned, helping fearow take off. "We're going to save Kelsie."

* * *

_A little explanation for the note above:_

_I intended to put the chapter before up last night, but my internet wouldn't work. It's behaving now, but it keeps having lapses. Therefore, this chapter will be put up earlier than you'd expect, due to me writing most of it last night. _

_Also, it might mean that any future chapters I upload this week may take a while or be clumped together._

_I don't want this fic to end! I enjoy writing it far too much. _


	53. Captured

The super pokemon, or mega-monster as Dawson put it, was almost complete. Scott had worked his fingers to the bone to make Vasseur's wishes come true, the pokemon he was trying to save hating him even more for doing so.

All he was waiting for now were the aerodactyl wings. Although, he had no idea how he would attach them.

To be honest, almost every new item he had been handed he wasn't sure of how to attach. Trying to disconnect a brain and reconnect a new one, one of the smartest pokemon alive, was a brand new experience for him. Vasseur had been aware of that; bringing in a brain surgeon to do the job. _How convenient._ Scott had thought.

There was also a dentist on hand to attach the new set of jaws. Two huge, poisonous fangs hung down from the corner of ursaring's mouth. Though Scott wasn't sure he could call it an ursaring any longer. It was too much of a mixture of sorts.

Another set of curved fangs were set in the middle of the monster's mouth, shorter than the poisonous ones. On its back, Scott was still amazed how he had managed to connect it; a blastoise's shell, complete with the retractable, rotatable water cannons. Its body had been covered in cocoon-like armour, shed and skinned from dozens of metapods, kakunas and the odd pupitar. Its cheeks had been padded with the same electrical pouches seen on a pichu and its evolutions. Its stubby tail had been replaced with a charizard's. Finally, and most recently, extra limbs had been attached, strong, muscular ones taken from a machamp.

It had mostly every elemental attack there was. Electricity from the pouches, fire from the tail, water from the cannons, psychic powers from the alakazam's brain. Scott, along with Vasseur and Dawson, knew it would be a force not to be reckoned with. With Dawson away, he had tried his best to prolong its completion, putting off the destruction of the entire pokemon race for as long as he could.

He still couldn't believe he was part of this.

And where were James and Kelsie? Surely they would have turned up by now? Surely they wouldn't have decided not to help? He spent most of the day staring at the phone, waiting for the sign. But it never came.

* * *

"Vasseur wants to see you." Dawson sneered, making Scott jump and drop the medical instrument he was holding. He sighed as Dawson snapped, dropping it in the sterile tank. "Today Fletcher!"

"Ok!" Scott washed his hands and turned to follow Dawson to the elevator. He was still stood in the doorway, scowling. Scott spotted that he had blood on his hands. He didn't have time to ask, however, as Dawson swirled round and led the way in silence.

Once in the office, the metal doors clanged shut behind them and Dawson pointed ahead. His brother, Alastair, was talking to Vasseur, in hushed voices, two lumps at his feet. In the dim light, Scott thought they were pokemon. As he was pushed closer, he saw that he was wrong.

"Look familiar?" Vasseur's drawl couldn't draw his attention away. Lysander, who Scott had thought was dead, was lying in front of him, bleeding profusely, gagged and bound. His brown hair was matted with blood clots. Next to him, looking worse, was Kelsie.

He hid his gasps, his shocked expressions and swallowed, forcing himself to look up. Alastair and Dawson were nudging each other, hoping that Scott would be found out. Either that or they were hoping to kill. It was them who were the true monsters of the world. Vasseur was looking straight at him, or through him. It sent shivers down his spine, shivers that he suppressed.

"What happened?" Scott asked, struggling to keep his voice from shaking.

"Do you recognise the girl?" Vasseur dismissed his question with his own. Scott glanced down again; their blood was beginning to stain the carpet.

"No." He said flatly. "She must be someone Lysander roped in to help him."

His answer seemed to confirm Vasseur's suspicions. He turned to the brothers and nodded. "Lock them up for now. You may take them to Mt. Silver at nightfall. Do the job properly this time!"

* * *

Kelsie stirred, struggling against her bonds. She blinked her eyes in the darkness, but it didn't give way. Her head hit metal; it clanged loudly in the darkness, sending shooting pains through her body. Her skull felt raw.

She opened her mouth to scream and choked. Wads of material had been stuffed down her throat, blocking her airway. Retching, she tried to spit the wads out, but to no avail.

Something stirred beside her; the rattling similar to the one in her head. Cold sweat covered her body as she froze, slowly turning her head to the side. "Mmph." She retched again after opening her mouth for the second time. A similar muffled sound responded, sounding scared. It had to be Lysander.

She heard more noises, gagging ones, and within a matter of minutes, Lysander's voice broke through the silent air. "Kelsie?"

She responded weakly, not wanting to burn her throat with the feeling of heaving again. Lysander encouraged her to keep trying and, after sever excruciating minutes, after enduring the rope rub her skin raw and the burning in her throat and lungs as she concentrated so hard she forgot to breathe, she had succeeded in removing the material.

"Where are we?" She sounded hoarse.

"I'm not sure." Lysander tried to move again, but couldn't due to the restricted room. He groped around in the darkness; his hands touched cold metal, perhaps bars. "I think we're in cages."

A light flicked on, blinding the two hostages. They wrinkled their eyes up, trying their best to pull their hands up to block out the light. The cold sweat was back. Their skin crawled as they heard heavy footsteps approach them.

"Are you ok?" Kelsie opened her eyes at the hushed voice. He smiled tentatively at her, mouthing the words; 'I'm sorry.' Lysander glared at him, still feeling stinging from the death sentence Scott had given him.

"No thanks to you." He replied, gruffly.

"I'm sorry. I had to." He stood back up, fumbling into his pocket for something. Lysander muttered something incoherent, his frosty features not melting.

"Are you setting us free?" Kelsie asked, sounding hopeful.

"Don't be stupid, he's probably lied to Vasseur and make things worse for us. Or at least me." Kelsie looked from one man to the other, dazed. Scott shook his head at her and started picking the lock that kept her caged.

"Ignore him."

"No, don't ignore him! You were creating a monster whilst I was trying to help the pokemon! Therefore, you handed me over. For what? To save your own skin!" Kelsie's mouth fell open, she looked slightly crestfallen.

"Keep your voice down, you'll get me busted." Scott hissed, removing the successfully picked padlock and removing something else from his pocket.

"He's telling the truth?" Her words stung from the amount of accusation in her tone. Scott nodded stiffly.

"I had to. I needed to stay behind so I could carry out my plan."

"Gone belly up now hasn't it." Lysander sneered.

Scott ignored him. "Is James on his way?"

"Is that all you care about?" Kelsie looked hurt. "We're about to be killed, but as long as James helps you fulfil your plan that's ok. Never mind the fact that you've created a monster."

"I'm not going to let you be killed." He showed them the rough spherical device Lysander had created. "It works." He chuckled, congratulating him on his creation. He stuffed the device in Kelsie's pocket. "They've already searched you, so as long as it stays hidden you'll be ok."

"How is that going to help us?" Lysander spat, still incredulous.

"He's in there." Scott looked solely at Kelsie, clicking the lock back in place. "He'll help you." He stood back up, ignoring Lysander's confusion, and turned out the lights, locking the doors behind him.

* * *

_I can't draw for toffee, otherwise I'd do a sketch of the 'super pokemon'. If anyone wants to do it, I'd more than happy to let them :) Just let me know and I'll post the link up when they're done._


	54. Mt Silver

_Thank you to ShadowJolteon for offering to do the sketch! I will post the link as soon as it is finished. However, I forgot to mention the aerodactyl wings so I'm not sure if they will be included._

_It was brought to my attention, and I also realized slightly late, that the shell covering the ursaring's back restricts room for the wings. Therefore Scott has worked some magic and somehow made them fit through the gaps in the side of the shell, I might make them retractable, depends how realistic I'm feeling. After all, this is the land of make believe and I can pretty much design any new pokemon I like. I don't question multiple things about already designed pokemon, therefore I hope you won't question mine. :) Although, if I'm going with the realistic approach, they won't be retractable. You'll just have to wait and see. _

_Now, I had some trouble as to how Kelsie would release and talk to the pokemon hidden in the pokeball (Yes, most of you know who it is, but the secrecy is for the benefit of those who don't), so if it sounds slightly farfetched, like a few things in my story, then I'm sorry. Alastair has an alakazam you know, you can't exactly hide things from them._

_Whew, this note was long. Sorry 'bout that!_

* * *

Mt. Silver was colossal. Mounds of rock formed together to create a looming cavern, surrounded by clumps of lush marshes and glorious lakes.

Home to many wild pokemon, all of which immensely strong, Mt. Silver was the ideal place for seclusion. Registered trainers were only permitted to access once the Elite Four were defeated. And that was only in extreme cases. Professor Oak usually insisted that trainers gain a minimum of sixteen badges before he approved them.

However, bandits and poachers were able to discard the rule, using high-levelled pokemon they had bullied or nabbed to take them there and lead them to safety. Dawson and Alastair's influence was no exception. Mt. Silver was the idealistic place to carry out Vasseur's bidding. Once inside, any deaths that came about could easily be blamed on brutal attacks from wild, territorial pokemon that were too much to handle for the foolish, weak humans. A few cleverly placed rocks even could put a death down to a landslide.

Kelsie was in awe as she was led to the entrance. Alastair's alakazam kept wild pokemon at bay; causing them to continue on safely with only eyes upon them instead of attacks. She had wondered how a brute like him had ended up with such a well respected pokemon and why it obeyed his horrendous bidding. Perhaps he had had it most of his life, just like she with typhlosion, and as he became corrupt so did his pokemon.

The mouth of the cave was looming ever closer. Once they entered the darkness, leaving the light of hope and day behind, who knew what would happen. Silence rang in her and Lysander's ears, deafening them. Until they reached the entrance. A single golbat, who had been perched on a withered branch protruding from a crack of the stone mound cavern, took flight at the sound of the five footsteps, outstretching its wings as wide as it could and swooping down low, clipping Kelsie's hair with the edge. The noise cut through the silence like a knife and Kelsie wasn't sure which she preferred.

Alakazam's eyes brightened the rocky interior with its flash attack, illuminating the dusty path ahead. Lysander was pushed first, Dawson keeping a tight hold on him. He stumbled on some loose gravel and twisted his ankle, falling halfway to the ground before getting hauled back up and dragged along by the unsympathetic thug. He hobbled at the same pace, trying his best to take pressure of his throbbing ankle, but the at the pace Dawson was marching, it wasn't an easy task.

Kelsie was forced to follow. Another golbat, this one hidden, screeched loudly as she was shoved forward. It sent shivers down her spine, shivers she had been fighting ever since she had been yanked out of her cramped cage and transported to her place of death. Screams crept up her throat and she gagged, trying to push them down, tears stinging her eyes as they watered from the pain, from the fear.

Pinpricks stared, hidden in the shadows of boulders and watery pits. They blinked and hurried away once either the alakazam or one of the four humans passed. Every so often, roars of battling or hungry pokemon could be heard, causing rubble to fall or the far walls, ceiling or floor to shudder. Debris of rock and bone were scattered around. Kelsie swore she saw a half shredded carcass of a larvitar; its skeletal head visible, poking through ripped and torn flesh that was clearly something's dinner.

Worse than that, Lysander was certain he had spotted remains of a human skull.

They carried on through the gloom, walking in deeper than either of the hostages would have liked. After what seemed like hours, they walked through another mouth-like arch, another opening leading into the next chamber.

The damp smell and dripping noise intensified once through. Bigger pits of water were situated almost everywhere, rippling more or less constantly from the pokemon looming in their depths or a aftershock of a shudder far away.

"Here will do." Both Kelsie and Lysander jumped from the sudden speech. Dawson had stopped walking, yanking Lysander back and causing him to stumble yet again. This time, Dawson just let him fall to the ground as he shot his brother a gleeful look. Alakazam was returned, but not before it delivered a warning telepathically to its owner. He smirked, throwing Kelsie to the floor and drew out a knife.

"Her first, me thinks."

His brother's glee turned to slight confusion; they had planned to make the accomplice watch the wrongdoer get punished first. Alastair's change of plan was sudden. He flashed his brother a warning and yanked Kelsie back up. She whimpered, eyeing the knife, and closed her eyes as he brought it close to her skin.

The rope snapped apart as the sharp metal sliced through the threads. It dropped to the floor, the wad of material stuffed down her throat followed. Kelsie opened her eyes wearily, even more terrified about the fact she had been set free of her bonds. She had good reason to be. Alastair pulled his hand back and then swung it round; the back of it colliding with Kelsie's cheek, forcing her to stumble to the ground again, the make-shift pokeball Lysander had made breaking free of her pocket and rolling across the floor with extreme speed.

Dawson's eyes grew wide with understanding and he watched it smash against a rock, the wood splintering and the outer shell, made of shell, snapping cleanly in two. Kelsie spat out blood, squinting at the blinding light that illuminated the cave that had become dim in the disappearance of the flash attack and the unveiling of a gas lamp placed in the middle of the occupied space.

She watched the beam of light transform into a familiar shape, even more terrified of what was about to happen to him. She pulled herself up onto shaky feet, blood dripping down beside them. A deafening roar filled the rocky shelter and two hazel eyes stared into hers. She pleaded for him to go hide, get help, flee, anything to get away from here, but as she had to resort to willing him through her mind, she wasn't sure he understood.

He stared at her sadly, watching as she was attacked again and flung to the floor, before roaring once more. Alastair's hand flew to his pocket where alakazam's pokeball was hidden, but typhlosion took off, running in the direction the had came.

The brother's laughter filled the cave, breaking through the returning silence. "It seems your saviour has fled." Lysander looked appalled. He fought against his bonds, gagging against the wad, trying his best to issue the words that filled his throat. Dawson's laughter crept closer as he approached, yanking him up too and issuing his own knife, far too excited to wait. Alastair was too busy to care.

* * *

"What's the number?" James asked, holding out his hand for the letter whilst getting ready to dial, holding his mobile in his other hand. Kirralie didn't have to look, she knew she didn't have it. It was Kelsie who took to reading the letter Scott had written every night. The slip of paper that had arrived with it, containing the information of her typhlosion, had accidentally been discarded and the main letter was the closest thing she had as a reminder that her pokemon was safe, as he put it, for now.

"What?" James glimpsed at her guilty face, tired of waiting, his arm growing stiff and numb.

"I don't have it."

He sighed, annoyed and impatience. "Now what?" It wasn't intended as a question, it was hypothetical, but Kirralie shrugged regardless. "I don't propose we storm right in, grab Kelsie and set the pokemon free, not unless you wanted to be killed."

Kirralie giggled weakly, lacking ideas too. Eventually, she suggested they creep up to the building to try to peek inside, but her idea was scrapped as soon as they spotted the security cameras rotating around outside.

The two of them slumped to the ground, leaning against the desolate building that was used to divert attention from what lay ahead. Not many people were about, most had gone home or moved on to the surrounding routes, hurrying to the next city before it got too late. They were stuck. How were they supposed to save their friend if they had no means of contacting Doctor Fletcher or breaking in without being too afraid?

"I say we just go for it." James broke the calm. Kirralie turned to face him, looking both awed and frightened. "Yeah, what's the worse that could happen? Besides the obvious."

"A lot of things actually."

"C'mon, we'd be martyrs. Risking our lives for the pokemon." Kirralie couldn't disagree.

"Are you sure?" She asked, still sounding uncertain, but James was adamant. He nodded, standing up, and a few minutes later the two of them, their pokemon (and Kelsie's) by their side, got ready to burst into the building by any means necessary.


	55. Pokemon's revenge

_I obviously wasn't clear enough about typhlosion leaving. He left for help, not to abandon. I'm sorry for any confusion. :)_

Kelsie choked as Alastair's knife pressed against her throat, beads of blood and sweat trickling down onto the metal blade. Lysander lay not ten feet away, bruised and battered more than she. Though Dawson still wasn't content. Vasseur had ordered the job to be done properly and he was willing to comply.

"Any last words?" Alastair snarled.

"Y-yeah." Kelsie gasped, looking directly at him, or so he thought. "Strength." Alastair looked at her confused, but continued to proceed nonetheless. He was stopped however, once a heavy boulder crashed down onto his skull, causing him to blacken out. Typhlosion had returned, albeit alone.

Kelsie retched, spitting and coughing up blood. She pointed a shaky arm at Lysander's non-moving body and typhlosion obliged; picking up Dawson and throwing him metres away. He smashed into a nearby wall, his skull cracking and spurting blood all over the stone. He slid to the floor, lying still and unmoving. Kelsie wasn't concerned. After everything he and his brother had done she couldn't give two hoots about her pokemon killing him,

She pulled herself up and grabbed onto the soft fur of typhlosion to steady herself. He growled softly, indicating her wounds. She had several lacerations where Alastair had sliced her skin with the knife and bruises on her arms from where he had pinned her down. Her left eye was swollen from one of his blows and her mouth was still filling with blood.

"I'm ok." She assured him, giving him a tearful hug. Lysander stirred nearby, Kelsie rushed over to him and helped him up, just as the ground started to shudder. The two of them looked round; angry pokemon were marching over, roaring and looking murderous. Kelsie assumed the commotion with Alastair and Dawson had stirred them.

_Leave!_

An onix was in front, causing the quake that was making the ground tremble. It was glaring at typhlosion, its mouth open wide in a horrendous roar. Kelsie went to cover her ears, but covered Lysander's instead when she noticed him wincing. He could barely move due to the bruises. His lacerations were much worse.

Typhlosion growled back, his fur standing on end, his cuff of fire blazing. He seemed to be sizing the onix up. Kelsie heaved Lysander up, supporting him as she pulled him over to the mass of wild pokemon. "What's going on?" She tugged at typhlosion's arm, trying to pull him away. "Come on, we need to go."

There was a groan behind her and Alastair pulled himself up, releasing his alakazam before anyone else had time to react. Lysander was cast aside by a psychic and Kelsie dashed over to him before the offending pokemon could turn to her. "Forget them!" Alastair snarled, stopping the alakazam from following. "Get the typhlosion!"

* * *

"The door's locked." James stated pointlessly, rubbing his shoulder which was sore after he had been banging against heavy oak. Kirralie growled in frustration. Rex scratched at the wooden door, charring it with snorts of flame. It wasn't enough to burn it completely, however.

"What now?" She asked, but got no response. James was busy, shouting at the security cameras, picking up loose stones and flinging them upwards, trying to crack the lens.

"Let us in!" He yelled. Rex howled with him and his sneasel sliced the wooden door, resuming where Rex had stopped. She was flung back, however, once the doors were yanked open and a murderous face greeted them.

"Welcome." His voice was steely. His eyes flickered from one trainer to the other and then cast over the pokemon. Every single one shivered unwillingly. There was something about this guy, something daunting. "Was there a specific reason as to why you were vandalising my property?"

His voice was chilling, it caused James to stutter, feeling, for some unknown reason, guilty for his actions. He fought against his emotions, amusing the man stood in front of him by hanging his head in shame and then suddenly snapping it back up. Kirralie, on the other hand, felt no remorse at all. She stood at James' side, anger surging through her body.

"Is there a specific reason as to why you're pokenapping pokemon?" She retorted, mocking his question with her own. The man's nostrils flared at the accusation, his calm expression hardening.

"That's a powerful allegation to make. _Little girl._" He sneered whilst saying the last two words, his eyes showing faint emotion for a single second. "Do you have any proof?"

"Let me in and I'll show you plenty." Kirralie bit back, frantically racking her brain for an equally humiliating retort like before. The best she could come up with, however, was '_Old man_'. And he wasn't exactly old.

"What makes you think I'd be foolish enough to do so?"

"Ah-ha!" James, eventually, joined in with the conversation. "Got something to hide have we?"

"This is no place for children." He sounded stern. "Come here again and I won't be so nice." His eyes flashed with emotion again, this time with glee, and he slammed the door in their faces. Kirralie and James heard the footsteps die away, angrier than ever.

"Bring it on!" James yelled at the oak. "I'm ready right now Mr. not-so-nice guy!" Kirralie stared at him, shaking her head in humiliation.

"I don't think he's listening." She said, snapping her fingers in front James' face, trying to coax him out of his shouting spree.

* * *

"Is it done yet?" Vasseur barked, causing Scott to jump. He wheeled round, startled, and hurried back to work, spotting Vasseur standing in the lab doorway. He looked thunderous.

"No, I…"

"Well hurry up!" He roared, Scott nodded and pulled on a pair of gloves, ready to start the final attachment.

* * *

Alastair lay in a crumpled heap, similar to one which his brother lay in, on the opposite side of the cavern. Kelsie suspected, from the large pool of blood leaking from some part of his body, that he too was dead. She and Lysander made no movement to check, they were far too concerned with the battle in hand.

Alakazam had, in his attempt to bring typhlosion down, unleashed psychic after psychic attack, hurling rock after rock every which way, riling the wild pokemon further and causing rubble to fall from the crumbling walls and ceiling. Kelsie barely had time to drag Lysander out of the way before a hunk of stone fell, spearing the ground where Lysander had laid a few seconds before.

The onix roared again, the muscly builds of machoke and machamp joining in. Alakazam turned to face them, shooting a purple beam from its eyes. It hit the nearest pokemon- an unfortunate young machoke- causing it to smash into a mound of rubble behind it.

Alakazam was no match for the rubble monster, however, who tossed it aside with a flick of its tail. The impact of pokemon against wall caused another mini-landslide and the poor pokemon ended up buried beneath the wreckage. Alastair turned to run, but the enraged beast swiftly blocked his, and anyone else who wished to escape, path.

Once he had been dealt with, the wild pokemon turned their attention to those who were left, ignoring typhlosion's pleas for them to listen. They had had enough.

_How dare you come here and cause all this destruction!_

_Please, just listen to me… We're nothing like them…_

The onix paid no attention, but slid over to typhlosion and tossed him aside too. He stood back up, shaken, but refused to give in. Kelsie heard him roar time and time again, trying his best to make it listen. To no avail.

"Should we just leave?" She whispered. Lysander shook his head, wincing in the pain.

"I don't think they're going to let us leave now. Besides, if we head back to Fuchsia alone, we'd be no match for what's waiting for us." Kelsie glanced at him, worried.

"You're hurt." She stated, but he insisted he was fine. It was typhlosion they needed to worry about.

Forced to battle in order for them to listen, typhlosion had unleashed fury. His flamethrower had scorched a fair few of the parasects, causing them to scuttle away, hiding from the battle. This resulted in riling the tougher pokemon even more. They leapt at the poor pokemon, chucking rocks and unleashing their own attacks. Mainly water.

Typhlosion roared, louder than before, spitting flames from his fiery collar, nostrils and mouth. A few pokemon backed away, but the ever-brave onix stepped forward, ready for a challenge. Typhlosion chuckled lightly at how easy his trap had been triggered and span in a circle, using his flamethrower yet again to create a blazing ring of flames. The onix, not deterred, slid forwards, swishing its tail threateningly before locking itself in a battle to the death.

Lysander groaned; they were never going to get out of here. Kelsie mistook his groaning for pain and stood up. "What are you doing?" He hissed, watching her eye the rippling liquid to their side. Yellow eyes glared at her from the depths and she suppressed a shudder, dipping her foot into the water. "Kelsie!"

"I'm ending this!" She replied, sounding braver than she felt. "He's getting hurt enough and we need to get you out of here!"

"You really think a bunch of vicious pokemon are going to listen to you?" Lysander hissed back, but Kelsie ignored him, plunging her other foot into the water as well.

She emerged, dripping wet and shivering, pulling her hood tight over her face and slipping her exposed hands into her pockets. Lysander's pleas fell on deaf ears, just like typhlosion's, and she forced herself forward through the inferno.

She made it through the other side, slightly sore where the flames had licked at her clothes, making them unbearably hot, and slightly blackened from the fumes, but miraculously unscathed. She pulled down her hood and ran forward yelling; "STOP!"

Typhlosion looked round at the cry, stumbling to the ground from the blow he received. He pulled himself back up, his limbs shaking from the pain they were in. He growled a warning, but it went unheard as Kelsie rushed towards him, not paying attention to the swishing tail of the onix.

It curled round the front of its body and recoiled back, catching the teenaged girl in the gut and flinging her into the air. Her typhlosion's anguished cries didn't reach her ears as she, like all those before her, slammed into the solid rock and slid to the floor, unmoving.

* * *

_I had trouble with this chapter. I had it all planned out- word perfect- but foolishly it was when I was in bed. Upon typing I had to think from scratch and had writers block. I assure you; this chapter sounded a hell of a lot better. _


	56. Completion

_Hello! Sorry for the wait, the heat and a few personal issues have gotten to me and I'm becoming ill. Illness does not bode well with my brain and I become restless and therefore cannot write. _

_Thanks to ..LoVe for the reviews, favourite story and author alert, and the rest :) And, as always, thank you to the rest of you. You are all the greatest :)_

Kirralie managed to prize James away from the building, insisting that they and their pokemon needed a good rest from running around all day. James wouldn't budge until she promised they would come back first thing. She did, but also added that they needed to come up with some sort of plan before barging straight in and sacrificing themselves.

"Like what?" James asked, looking bewildered. He had figured that sacrificing themselves didn't require a plan, but consisted of storming in and freeing as many pokemon as they could before getting killed. Perhaps they could even hold off death by using their pokemon as protection.

Kirralie was left to think his suggestion over as he walked up to the front desk and asked if there were any rooms left. Apparently, since the destruction of the Safari Zone, Fuchsia had become quite desolate. Trainers only visited to challenge the gym leader. James waved Kirralie over and handed her her key. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to speak.

"Valid point Jimmy," She said, a scared look of her face. James guessed that she had been trying to prolong his plan for as long as she could. "I guess it's all guns blazing tomorrow?" She looked quite saddened.

"Hey," James put an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be ok, don't worry. Kelsie and her typhlosion will save us, you'll see." He managed to get a small smile out of her. "Forget what I said about death, the only people who are going to die are them." This cheered her up slightly and they climbed the stairs, heading to bed, resting for tomorrow.

* * *

Scott had been hoping, as Dawson had disappeared again, to drag out the finishing touches for as long as he could. However, that was no longer possible. Vasseur breathing down his neck was ten times worse than putting up with Dawson's constant grumbling and forceful nature. After all, it was Vasseur who decided whether Scott lived or not. And if he wanted the former to be true, he would have to be the puppet to his strings. He'd done it thus far, another night wouldn't hurt. The final night.

Except, he knew, they all knew, that it would.

He was watching him carefully attach the intricate structure of the aerodactyl wings to the ursaring, with extreme difficulty might one add, whilst pacing and grumbling quietly. Perhaps he too was wondering where on earth the brothers were. For entirely different reasons to Scott. There were plenty of reasons as to why there was a delay in their return, most of them made Scott feel uncomfortable. Ever the glimmer of hope he had, for Kelsie and Lysander succeeding, was tainted with thoughts of vicious wild pokemon stopping them in their path. Would one typhlosion be strong enough to take on hundreds of type advantage pokemon? He prayed for the answer to be a yes.

Vasseur, on the other hand, was worrying about Alastair and Dawson. They should have been done by now. It was approaching midnight and they had left at nine. Three hours was plenty of time to kill two weak, helpless, defenceless lives.

So, where were they?

"Is it done yet?" Vasseur's steely voice regularly pierced the silence, stopping his wandering and looking up. Scott gave up pausing after the first three times and continued to shake his head in response thereafter. The wings were the trickiest attachment of all. Especially as they were of a skeletal structure.

He didn't seem to make any progress until the early hours of the morning. Once or twice he had thought, and hoped in order to put a hold on Vasseur's scheme, that the ursaring had died, but it was easily resuscitated. Unfortunately. Exhausted, he flopped into a chair, indicating his completion. Vasseur, who didn't seem to be affected by the lack of sleep, looked up from the other side of the room.

"Is it finished?" He sounded hoarse, having been silent for the last couple of hours. Scott nodded stiffly, but before Vasseur could shoot him a look, he rubbed the back of his neck, putting his stiffness down to that.

In reality, Vasseur couldn't care less. He had barely noticed, having jumped up as soon as the first bow of Scott's nod had commenced. He walked to the unconscious ursaring swiftly, marvelling at his creation. His hand brushed over the sturdy armour disguising its actual body, the rock solid shell, the bony wings. He eyed the fangs, a rare smile appearing on his face.

"It's perfect." He whispered, his eyes lighting up from the surge of electricity crackling in the electrical pouches. "Get some sleep. As soon as Dawson returns you will begin its revival. Obliteration begins tonight." Vasseur's brow furrowed as he reminded himself of Dawson's lack of return, but he disguised it with a curt nod and hurried back to his office.

Scott watched him leave, his mouth half open in protest. His eyes flickered to the pokemon on the operating table and he watched its chest rise and fall, thoughts of destroying it flashing through his mind.

* * *

"Kirralie…"

She stirred, the familiar voice breaking through her dream and reaching her thoughts. She smiled, hugging the pillow closer, her face nuzzling into her clefable's soft fur. "Mmm…."

"Kirralie…" She stirred again, the voice louder and closer, feeling bony fingers prod her body. She squirmed; it hurt. "…Wake up…" Her body shook as the fingers curled over her shoulder, grabbing it tightly and tugging at it. She swatted at the hand and rolled over onto her back.

"Fine." James muttered, releasing Polly from her pokeball. "You asked for this…" Polly landed on the bed, squealing excitedly. When she noticed Kelsie still wasn't around, however, her happy look faded.

"Polly, use water gun please." She obliged, squirting a jet of water all over the sleeping girl with less enthusiasm than normal. Perhaps Muzzy was right, Kelsie had abandoned them forever. "Thanks." James smiled brightly at her, trying to cheer her up, but returned her when she didn't perk up. He sighed sadly, sympathizing with them, but burst out laughing at the sodden, wailing drip that Kirralie had become.

"…Water was freezing!" She stammered, hugging her wet body, her teeth chattering. Clefable was less than happy too, having received more than a splash of water herself. She puffed herself up and pointed angrily at the doubled-over-in-laughter figure that was James, uttering obscenities that she had picked up from him. Not that they would ever know.

"I-I'm sorry…" He gasped, wiping his eyes. "That was just too funny!"

"Well, the joke's on you," Kirralie stuck out her tongue, stripping the bed for Nurse Joy, hoping that she wouldn't be accused of wetting the bed when someone cleaned their room later that day. "It's going to take me longer to get ready now. Your plan will be prolonged after all." She grabbed her wash bag and headed to the bathroom. "Thanks!" James' smirk wiped clean off his face.

* * *

_Do clefable's have fur? If not I'll have to retract that. _

_No sketch yet, but I promise I'll upload it (even as a separate chapter, if I can) once done. _

_The finale is almost here. *big sad face* I'm still deciding whether to give it a happy ending or a sad one. I have both planned out. The problem is, one of my other ideas includes people from this fic/story (whatever :P) so I'll have to change that if I go with sad._

_Thanks for reading! :)_


	57. Scott's confession

All that could be heard was a faint, distant roaring in her ears. Or perhaps it was in her mind. Either way, it numbed her thoughts and pounded her head, making her feel dizzy and sick. Though, that could have been due to something else…

She twitched her feet feebly, wincing at the searing pain it caused. Her muscles protested against moving, refusing to lift her body from the uncomfortable ground. _As uncomfortable as it may be, it's more comfortable than the discomfort of moving…_

She blinked, forcing her eyes to open and look at her surroundings. Blurry mist surrounded her, but it cleared after much blinking. Until a dribble of red liquid would drop down and cause the blurriness to take over again. Though a red colour instead of white. On the odd occasion, she saw a face shadowing hers. It was concerned, mouthing words she could not hear.

A strange, yet familiar, sense filled her with dread; she didn't seem to recognise her surroundings. And yet there was something so recurring about the situation. A soft growl emitted to her left and she jumped, surprised to see a towering beast beside her. It growled again, a pained look in his eyes.

"She'll be ok." The face said soothingly. She was shocked to hear something other than the roaring, her hearing slowly returning to normal. She was helped up from the ground and placed resting against the wall, a roughly shaped object placed in her hands. "Drink this."

She looked down; half a shell, shallowly dipped, was resting in her open palm. Just more than a trickle of water rested in the dip. "I can get some more if you need it." The voice spoke again and she slowly turned to face the man on her right side. He was holding another half shell, looking slightly dismayed at the fact that his creation had been abolished so easily.

The water felt cold as it slipped down her throat, but it awakened her thirst. She didn't wait for the pitiful container to be filled, instead she cupped her hands under the surface and scooped greater amounts down her throat.

The beast growled again, causing her to jump once more, reawakening her to his presence. Failing to piece her mind together, she shot him a fearful look, before dragging her heavy and pained body closer to the only other human. Her actions received another saddened look that tugged at her heartstrings.

He whined, looking to the man beside her. He gave him a half-hearted smile, reassuring him that it was just the effects of bumping her head, probably concussion.

_Is the human ready to talk yet?_

All three of them jumped, looking into the clearing. A much larger group were clustered beside the other pool of water, all of which staring in their direction, most of them battered looking. Two golduck hovered away, as though waiting for something. A third was approaching the smaller group, a small, nervous smile on its face. The beast growled, louder and rougher than before, causing the girl to shiver.

_Calm down, I mean no harm._ The golduck raised her hands, backing away slowly. _I've been sent to see if you've been telling the truth._

The man's eyes narrowed, feeling uneasy about having his mind probed. However, they needed to get Kelsie out of here as soon as possible, she needed urgent medical attention. Reaching his conclusion, he nodded and pulled the typhlosion over to the other two waiting pokemon as instructed.

The golduck attempted a smile again, sitting down beside a fearful Kelsie. She tried to scuttle away, but stopped, feeling the searing pain again. She flinched as the golduck placed a webbed hand on her leg and started to hum, closing its eyes. Slightly intrigued, Kelsie stared at it, watching, before her body numbed completely and her eyes closed too.

* * *

"I reckon a vine whip would do it." James concluded, tapping the glass window, satisfied with the resounding chime it made in response. "I would smash it, but I feel an unnecessary wound would slow me down." He grinned, but it wasn't returned. Kirralie felt he was taking this far too immaturely. This was serious.

"Why can't we just splinter the door?" She asked, noting that the square pane was uncomfortably small. The only decent sized windows they had found appeared to be at the top and there was no way she was climbing all the way up there. One push and they'd be toast, before they had even started.

"This way's quicker." James said, with a note of finality in his voice. He waited for Kirralie to grumble an agreement, but none came. He turned round and spotted that she had disappeared. Pichu and togepi were still seated in the grass, giggling at James' lickitung, who was stood there looking dazed. James rolled his eyes; perhaps the baby pokemon would have been better off being left at the pokemon centre.

"James…" He spun round, Kirralie was round the corner, holding up a wooden window frame that was placed lower down that the other. James assumed he had missed it due to his height, but Kirralie insisted it was due to his big-headedness. They quarrelled for a few minutes before two sharp whips brought them back to their current situation. James grinned embarrassedly, offering for Kirralie to ease through first. However, she sent her skiploom down, ordering him to put anyone he met to sleep.

"Good idea." James praised, holding the frame up for her. She smiled in return and jumped down into the dark room.

"Skiploom," She hissed, once on her feet. "Use flash." The bright light blinded her for a few seconds, but she thanked him nonetheless, stumbling to the side to make room for the rest.

Once used to the sudden illumination, she took in her surroundings, gasping at what she saw. Her gasp soon turned to a groan, though, as James' body collided with hers and knocked to the ground. "Stupid oaf." She grumbled, pushing him off and dusting herself down. The noise that had elapsed from the chaos alerted someone to their presence and they all held their breath as the door, on the other side of the room, was opened, just as skiploom's flash dimmed out.

It would have been a brilliant hiding scheme, being hidden in the shadows, if it wasn't for the light switch.

The brighter light blinded Kirralie again and she cursed, shielding her eyes. Once used to it, she faced the baffled man in front of her, her fists clenched. "You're an evil, horrible man!" She shouted, gesturing wildly at the objects in the room. "Keeping pokemon locked in cages? It's inhumane! And another thing…" She carried on, ignoring James' silent resolve beside her and the man's frantic gestures for her to keep her voice down.

"Toge toge priii!" Her mouth came to a firm close and she shot a look at the giggling baby at her feet.

"Thank you." The man smiled at her and she giggled again. He shook his shaggy hair out of his eyes, stepped into the already cramped room and closed the door behind him. "Now, as I was saying, I need your help."

Kirralie's mouth fell into the shape of a comical 'o' and she simply stared, two bright pink spots appearing on her cheeks. "Yeah, with the pokemon," James piped up, finally. "We know. Sorry it took so long, we…"

"No, no," Scott shook his head, looking troubled. Dark circles shadowed his eyes and he looked like he had aged plenty of years. "I've done something terrible…" He admitted guiltily. "We need to get all of the pokemon out of here, yes, but we also need to stop one. By tonight." He sighed, slumping against the nearest wall and blurted out the whole story. James and Kirralie listened, their faces becoming more and more shocked by the minute.

Scott let them mull over their thoughts for a minute, once he came to a finish. It was a lot to digest, he appreciated that. "Why?" James' voice ended the silence and Scott faced him, hanging his head.

"What choice did I have?" He argued pitifully. "In order to save the pokemon, I needed to be alive."

"But you completed it."

Scott didn't answer, he didn't know what to say.

* * *

_Again, sorry for the delay. I've no energy, i'm ill :(_


	58. The calm before the storm

_A quick message to Stonekipsta as there was no link to reply- No worries, as long as you keep reading and enjoying, I don't mind about the lack of reviews. Lol, nothing can stop me writing, it may slow me down, but I can't disappoint. Plus when I get going, sometimes it's hard to stop :) I wish it didn't have to end too… : ( I have a sort-of plan for a fic after this, featuring a few of the main characters. I'll start writing that after so you can all see what they get up to. Hopefully, the plot will develop as it continues. My trainer fic will stay on hold as I have no plan for that. Other than following the game and I don't really want to do that. I've also got to try to finish my A.C fic. _

_Anyway, thank you for reviewing and thank you to the rest of you. You all make my day(s). Lol. No sketch yet, but my promise still stands. :) _

* * *

Scott allowed the silence to elapse for a while, whilst he shifted uncomfortably in the guilt. James continued to stare at him, anger surging through his body, whilst the girl he had arrived with sat on the stone tile, looking worried.

He had every right to be angry at him, he was right. He shouldn't have continued to create the monster in question. If he hadn't been so worried about his own safety, he wouldn't have created this whole situation they were in now.

"Please," He begged, looking up. "I know this is all my fault, but I need your help. These pokemon don't trust me, I need you to ask them to help us destroy the monster I was forced to create."

James' brows furrowed. "Forced? You could have said no. I don't blame them for not trusting you." He sounded stiff, but he managed to nod. "I'm doing this for the pokemon's sake. Not yours."

"Thank you, that's all I ask." Scott fumbled into his pocket and pulled out his pliers. He began snapping open the cages, handing James and Kirralie the pokemon inside so they could talk to them, before freeing them from their tags.

Most gave a cry of thanks, more than willing to listen to their saviours. The tougher pokemon took some more persuasion. Particularly as they knew how untrustworthy Scott was. More than once, the doctor left the crowded room, in order for the pokemon to listen to the two trainers.

Once all of the pokemon from that room had been released, they gathered in the lab to be hidden. Kirralie helped Scott work on the remaining pokemon, leaving James to come up with a plan. It wasn't the wisest of ideas, but James refused to co-operate with Scott and he still acted stiffly around him.

Soon after, all of the pokemon had been freed. "What's your plan then?" Kirralie asked, squeezing her way through the pokemon army to reach James, who was stood in the middle of the room. Scott remained at the back, feeling that James would prefer it that way.

"Well, firstly, I thought we should think of someway to smuggle the weaker pokemon out." James replied, turning to face Kirralie. She glanced over the swarm of pokemon, noticing a fair few rattata and other common pokemon that seemed to shy away from the tougher ones.

She nodded, smiling in surprise. She had expected James to rush in guns blazing. "You're right." She said. "They could get hurt."

"They could get killed." Scott cut in, looking grave. James glared at him as the pokemon began to murmur, worried.

"Shut up!" He hissed.

However, Scott returned his glare. "If you're asking these pokemon to fight for you, they should know the truth. Don't delude them. I don't think you realize how tough this pokemon is going to be."

"Well, you should know!" James shot back, receiving a few growls of agreement.

"Yes, I should. So if any of the pokemon want to bow out now, they should do so." Scott's eyes met every single one of the pokemon's that were gathered in the lab. Most of them looked prepared, even those that were weaker. They wanted revenge, they were willing to fight, defend their population. Their strength was admirable. They weren't afraid of death.

Scott felt another pang of guilt as he realized. He blinked back the tears and swallowed his fears. If these pokemon were going to be strong, it was about time he was too. This fight was going to be his way of correcting his mistake. At least, he hoped.

"Kirralie," Kirralie looked up as the doctor addressed her. He made his way past the pokemon blocking the way and handed her some roughly-shaped spherical objects. "Get the weaker ones out of here. James, I know you detest me right now, but we need to do this. Side by side. Team work will be the only way to bring this monster down."

James nodded, holding a shaking hand out. "Here." He handed him four pokeballs. "I'm sure she would have wanted you to use them..."

He looked down at the four balls, another pang of guilt tugging at his heartstrings. "…Until we meet up with her." James finished, causing Scott's head to snap back up. He had deliberately left that part out, he knew now that had been a mistake. James, and probably Kirralie too, thought she was still be held there.

"James, I-"

"C'mon, we'd best prep them." He clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder, all ill feelings forgotten, and started directing Kirralie and the escapees to the smaller room. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, handing him her returned pokemon.

"Good luck." She said, tearfully, before pulling him in a tight hug. He patted her back awkwardly, sniffling too, and smiled once released. "You better look after them."

He chuckled. "We'll be fine, you'll see." He handed her all of his spare pokeballs that resided in his back, quickly counting all of the pokemon in the room. "I'm a few short, but you should be ok."

She nodded, beginning the capturing process and storing the balls in her bag. "Go easy on him," She said, straightening up once finished. "I think he cares about the pokemon, and Kelsie, almost as much as you do."

And almost as though he was illustrating Kirralie's point, Scott curled up in the corner, in the lab, crying over Kelsie's four pokeballs, praying she was ok.

* * *

Everything came flooding back. Every feeling she had ever felt throughout her whole journey, to every single action. Images whizzed past her eyes, causing her to feel sicker and dizzier than before.

And before she could blink, it was all gone.

The golduck steadied her; somehow she had pulled herself to her feet. She looked around, feeling embarrassed as she noticed that all eyes were on her. She realized she must have been screaming, or something similar, as her mouth was open.

Typhlosion roared, making haste to her, but the golduck who was probing him pulled him back. _She's fine._

Shuddering, Kelsie collapsed back onto the floor. The golduck made sure she was ok, before heading back to the others. Once free, Lysander and typhlosion huddled beside her, awaiting the verdict.

"Are you ok?" Lysander asked, placing a hand on Kelsie's arm. She nodded, resting against her typhlosion's warm body.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, he growled softly in response.

"What do you think that probing was all about?" Lysander asked, watching the wild pokemon converse in low growls and plenty of gestures. It seemed as though they were having an argument, deciding whether the typhlosion's story was true. It appeared that Lysander was the contradicting one, judging by the amount of glances he was given. He didn't blame them, after all, he had been on Vasseur's side. Whether it was pretend or not.

Kelsie shrugged, her head drooping onto typhlosion's leg. She was holding her sleeve to her gash, to try to stop the bleeding. They needed to get her out of here. Lysander hoped they would reach a decision soon. Whatever it was that they were deciding.

A roar made him look up. Less pokemon seemed to be in the group on the other side of the cavern. Fewer machoke were residing beside the graveller and the amount of golem and machamp had been reduced to one apiece. All of the parasects had left, as had the larvitar and poliwag. However, a select few poliwhirl, golduck, magmar and golbat were still clustered, as were a few onix, all of which smaller than the leading one, who was approaching them, along with the golduck who had probed Kelsie.

_We don't agree with what you did. _She translated, pointing at Lysander. _In fact, a fair few of us agree that you should have met the same fate as them. _She then pointed to each of the dead bodies of Alastair and Dawson in turn. Lysander gulped.

_We will help you._ She translated yet another roar of the onix, producing a small smile. _Only because we have seen many deaths here in our home, mainly due to them._ Again she pointed to the dead bodies._ We assume to know what they could be capable of._ She shuddered, but continued to look sombre.

"Great." Lysander forced a smile, trying his best to act as though the thought of many wild pokemon didn't scare him. Extremely strong ones at that too. The golduck smiled also, reading his thoughts and communicated to him that they would use that to their advantage if he tried anything. Lysander gulped again.

Fortunately, there was a pokemon centre just outside Mt. Silver. Lysander carried her inside, asking for the pokemon to stay outside. They did as they were asked, some of them attempting to convince the other wild pokemon to join their ranks. Being as stubborn as he was, however, typhlosion paid no heed and followed Lysander and his owner into the centre.

Nurse Joy, after much fussing and lecturing about the cave being no place for amateur

trainers, stitched up Kelsie's wounds and issued for her and typhlosion to get some rest. "Any other pokemon?" She asked, slightly snappy at the state of them.

"There's a whole army outside." Lysander answered. Nurse Joy thought he was joking until the only other trainer in the centre confirmed his statement. She gasped, bundled medical supplies into her arms and hurried out to check on them, her chansey following.

"That's a lot of pokemon." The old lady chuckled. Lysander stared at her, it seemed that she already knew what was going on.

"How…?" He began to ask, but she chuckled again.

"Blame my alakazam." She said, patting him on the head.

"I don't suppose he could predict whether we win or not?" He asked, hopeful. She let out a wheezy laugh, shaking her head. "Figures."

"He can provide you with the transport you need, though."

* * *

_Do you know what be awesome? Some great battle music for the war ahead. Shame that you can't incorporate that into a story. :P_

_Actually, I can visualise it with 'what hurts the most' by Cascada._

_Prepare for some tears… I intend on making it emotional._


	59. Urchapodtyltoise

_I had some pretty amazing epiphanies- one of which I'm not sure I can incorporate. Wouldn't it be cool if the fighting was like Kingdom Heart stylee? Perhaps that's just me. The other, you're just going to have to wait to find out what that is, as I __**am **__able to incorporate it. I wonder if anyone will guess correctly which part it is…(Not in this chapter, so don't guess yet)._

_Quick note, prologue of my new story (that I will start after this) is up. Check it out if you want to. It features a fair few characters from LSI as well as new ones. It'll be written in the same sort of style of LSI too, slightly less dark however. The 'bad guy' is more inventive than evil, he's just a curious man. Unlike Vasseur._

* * *

Prepped and prepared, Scott led James and the remaining pokemon out of the storage rooms. The other doctors and scientists stared as they passed, curiously wondering what the strange group were up to.

An open area, naturally, would be the best place to fight. The remains of the Safari Zone were hidden behind the building they were in and Scott had advised James to led their 'army' there. In order to do so, they would have to exit via the entrance and meander round the narrow passageway leading to the remains that were full of hedgerow and rock. He warned him to watch out for hidden swamps.

When asked, Scott simply replied that he would be the one to lure out the enemy.

It wasn't going to be easy. For Scott, anyhow. Almost everyone was aware as to what was going on and Vasseur's cameras were whirring away. In a matter of seconds, he and the urchapodtyltoise, as Vasseur had named it, would be blocking their path and forcing them to battle in the confined space. Something Scott didn't want, it was far too cramped and the pokemon were in more danger of being hurt. As for the humans, he couldn't care less.

"Hurry." He hissed, spying the camera nearest to them rotating wildly. It was probably scanning the amount of pokemon lined up in the hallway. James nodded and instructed the pokemon to dash outside. He followed the commotion and the building cleared just as Scott reached the elevator.

He didn't even have to press the button. Just as he predicted, Vasseur and his new creation were already ready. He narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him, who was trying his hardest to hold his own, and issued a single word.

The roar was bad enough. It was a few pitches short of shattering any glass in the vicinity. It was enough to send the scientists and doctors fleeing. All except for Scott. He wavered, but continued to stand there, waiting for Vasseur's utterings of disbelief. None came. The fire in the steely eyes was enough to confirm how mad, how surprised he was, but he wasn't prepared to stand and listen to idle excuses. If they wanted a war, he'd give them one.

A click of the fingers and Scott barely managed to leap out of the way of the flamethrower attack that had been unleashed. He had no time to stand there in confusion and amazement, however, and as he ran he came to the conclusion that Dawson had done his own tinkering, presumably whilst Scott rested.

"They're coming!" He cried, running towards the cluster of purple snakes, hovering birds, varying bugs and others that were amongst the only human and his pokemon. Scott threw the four balls forward and Kelsie's poliwag, ampharos, wigglytuff and venomoth appeared, joining the diverse group, emitting shrieks and squeals.

There was a sharp laugh that rang in their ears and Vasseur's figure came into view from the shadows of the canopy that hung above the passageway. Behind him, growling constantly, was the urchapodtyltoise. James gasped, taken aback at the sight. The blastoise shell made it seem wider than it actually was and the bulk wasn't exactly weak looking. A few of the pokemon backed up, causing Vasseur to emit his evil laughter once more.

"You really want to challenge me?" He asked, his thin smile still eerily brightening his face. He locked his eyes onto Scott and directed his question solely on him. Scott didn't answer. His clenched fists and firm stature was enough of an answer, he hoped. "Pathetic."

"I think you'll find you're the pathetic one!" James spat, marching forward so that he was standing by Scott's side. "You can't even carry out your own dirty work and now you expect a tortured pokemon to fight your battle? You're a coward!"

"Coward?" Vasseur walked into the clearing, positioning himself so that he faced the line of humans and pokemon opposite. "I'm the coward?" He addressed the group as a whole, speaking louder this time so that even those at the back could hear. "This man who stands before me is the coward. Do you really want someone like him to lead you? Submits an innocent man so that his life is spared, operates on countless pokemon so that, again, his life is spared. He'd probably turn on his heel and run the minute things got too tough."

Scott shook his head, though his face was filled with guilt. "I repeat, you really want to challenge me? Knowing all this? You really want to take this on?" He pointed to the towering beast behind him.

"In order to protect the pokemon race, then yes I do." James replied. Though he stepped away from Scott's side slightly.

His response was followed, gradually, by a series of roars, squawks and cries, depending on the pokemon.

"Very well," Vasseur countered. "Let the battle commence."

* * *

It was approaching evening by the time Lysander, Kelsie, typhlosion and the wild pokemon, assisted by a kindly old woman's alakazam, arrived in Fuchsia city. They thanked her profusely and hurried towards the derelict building situated in the far end of the city.

It was empty, but something flashing in the tinted window caught Kelsie's eye. She paused, trying to peer through and made out the faint outline of dismembered pokemon all jumbled back together releasing a variety of attacks. She tugged at Lysander's sleeve, pointing out what she had spotted, before picking up a stray chair and smashing the window. It was too narrow to fit through, but it was enough to alert the group of what was already happening.

The battle must have started some time ago, visible scars were on most of the pokemon left standing, especially the jumbled one. Despite this, it didn't look as though it had been weakened much. It was still firing random water, electric, fire and slash attacks, eliminating any pokemon in its path with ease, ignoring the pile of injured and defeated pokemon.

A horrid feeling made her suspect that not all of them were unconscious.

"We need to get out there!" She cried frantically. Lysander led her to the passageway, calling for the wild pokemon to follow. They ran out onto the battlefield, just dodging a stray attack from one of the pidgeotto. Kelsie watched what was once an ursaring snatch it out of the air and throw it a good ten metres.

"Get Nurse Joy." She ordered, before issuing her typhlosion to use flamethrower. She successfully managed to get the urchapodtyltoise to turn its attention to them, allowing the wild pokemon to force their way out into the open.

* * *

"What's going on?" James asked, fighting his way forward, past numerous wounded, but still fighting, pokemon. "Why has it stopped attacking?" Scott looked around and then pointed, a smile stretching onto his face. James turned, squinting through the flurry of wild pokemon, which seemed to have increased in size.

Through the gaps he could see the urchapodtyltoise unleashing attack after attack, often swatting away an oncoming pokemon. Another was facing it, matching its height, managing to dodge most of the oncoming attacks. Beside it was a girl.

"Kelsie!" He cried, running forwards before Scott could stop him. The cry made Vasseur, who was hiding in the hedgerow, look up and whistle at his creation. He pointed at James and Kelsie watched as the electricity in the cheek sacs sparked.

"Typhlosion," She cried. "Do something!"

* * *

Lysander burst into the pokemon centre, panting, and struggled up to the counter, causing Nurse Joy to look panicked. He took a few minutes to get back his breath and gratefully gulped down the glass of water the nurse handed him.

"Thank you." He gasped, collapsing into a nearby chair. "I need your help."

The look of worry on her face increased. She seated herself beside him, taking off her cap. "This has something to do with the girl bursting in here earlier, doesn't it?" She asked, receiving a look of confusion.

"What girl?"

"There was a girl, a few hours ago, trying to rally some trainers together. She handed a bagful of pokemon over and told me to release them far away from here. When I asked her, she said she was trying to save the pokemon race."

Lysander nodded. "Yeah, I'd say it has something to do with that." He smiled, although it was strained, and pulled himself back to his feet. "There's a lot of pokemon who need your help." He said, but despite her pleading and confused looks, he wouldn't elaborate further. "We need a distraction."

"Then we'll help." Lysander turned and came face to face with one of the people who were chasing him a few days ago. Beside her were three other trainers; two of which looked rather experienced and completely confident. The third looked rather lost, as though she wasn't exactly sure as to why she was there.

* * *

_Not much battling yet, I thought I'd ease you in._

_(And prolong the ending just a little. :P) _

_Anyway, check out my new fic! :)_


	60. Saving the world, part one

_To be honest, I was pretty much at a loss to write during my last chapter. I apologise for jumping around so much. I actually forgot a few of the urchapodtyltoise's traits. Like the wings and extra limbs. And the I.Q of 5,000 that an alakazam posses. I now realize that the urchapodtyltoise would have seen through Kelsie's plan in an instance. It would probably see through the ones that are thought up in this chapter too, but lets just say it's still adjusting to the usage of its new brain :) _

_Oh, and yes, it's a mouthful. But as it has parts from a charizard, metapod, aerodactyl and blastoise, as well as once being just an ursaring, I decided to combine the names. The 'cha' could also be the ma__**cha**__mp and adding something from the 'chu family would have made it longer. Just like this note ^^, ._

* * *

Upon hearing his owner's cries, typhlosion unleashed a final flamethrower, trying his best to divert the electrical current to him. Kelsie dived out, blocking the path between the urchapodtyltoise and James, and tackled him to the ground, out of harms way.

Typhlosion's goal failed and the electricity crackled loudly in the air, striking the teenaged girl and sending her squirming as the current viciously swam through her body.

James yelped in pain, from the shock her received as a result of Kelsie touching him and also as he watched her writhe around. He gave a strangled cry; the words jumbling in his throat, but turned to see Scott busy with Vasseur. They were fighting in an old fashioned style, fists already stained with blood from the liquid streaming from different parts of their body.

James turned again, upon hearing a roar, and spotted the typhlosion Kelsie had arrived with, along with multiple other pokemon, throwing itself at the monster. He launched rock after rock that he managed to pick from the rocky terrain nearby, but they were caught, lazily, by the extra limbs. The pouches sparked again as the pokemon's eyes narrowed at the twitching body on the floor. Kelsie.

Typhlosion leapt again, less savagely, due to the exhaustion that was starting to break through. The urchapodtyltoise didn't bother to turn. Its psychic brain kicked in and typhlosion became enveloped in a bright purple mist. He rose in the air and the urchapodtyltoise flicked an armoured arm, sending the levitating pokemon zooming through the air, hitting a nearby rock mound and crumbling in a heap on the floor.

Kelsie was zapped again as typhlosion was attacked and her scream filled the ears of the surrounding pokemon; injured and uninjured alike. James dived out of the way of the thunder attack; the ground scorching where he once was, leaving a charred, smokey black patch that wafted the smell of burnt grass up the nostrils of those nearby.

The pokemon that arrived with Kelsie, minus typhlosion, sprung into action with the nod of their leader's head and began positioning themselves around the enemy. Unlike everyone else, they had discussed their tactics.

"Help!" James was still crying out, not being able to bear seeing his friend in such pain. She was still squirming and screaming occasionally, the white hot electrical current burning her every pore. The urchapodtyltoise ignored everything else and took a heavy step towards the two humans. Its thunder attack had been long stopped, but the sacs sparked again, jolting the owner and causing it to emit a short, sharp yell. James grinned slightly, realizing. He had spotted this before from Kirralie's pichu. The random discharges that the pouches produced often shocked him. It appeared the same happened in the monster's case.

It recovered quickly, despite that setback. It recovered its concentration and set to shock either the human in front of it or the one still on the ground. James threw himself over Kelsie's body, to protect her, and then flung his arms over his head. It wasn't going to be much help when it came to the searing pain, but at least he felt slightly less scared.

He waited for a long time. He could hear the sparkling of the electric in the air, but it wasn't reaching them. Slowly, he raised his head to see a silhouette of a yellow pokemon standing in the way and a long, stone-carved snake standing parallel, further along. Both were consuming the electricity that was flowing through the air. It had no effect on the stone snake, being as it was immune to those type of attacks, so it was an excellent insulator. As for the other pokemon, James was astounded as to why it was able to soak up the attack like a sponge. Though truthfully, he didn't even know what it was.

There was a groan. He turned to see a trembling Kelsie pull herself to a sitting position. Her eyes were lolling, but she seemed determined to return to the situation in hand. "Where's typhlosion?" She asked weakly. "What's going on? Where's everyone else?" If things were different and her mind was clearer, a much different question would have been asked. Her reconciliation, however, along with her grovelling, was going to have to wait. As bad as it sounded, this situation took priority. Chance would have been a fine thing for her to take her four other pokemon away to a quieter area and talk.

James pointed to the shaggy-haired beast crumpled on the ground and Kelsie groaned louder. She made to rush over to him, but paused, spotting the two pokemon that were acting as lightning rods.

"Ampharos?" It gave a loud, audible growl in response, but remained focused on the urchapodtyltoise; its electrical body absorbing the electricity. James was in awe.

"Your pokemon is pretty cool." He gawped.

"Yeah, she is." Kelsie agreed, filling with pride and guilt. She gave a strangled apology, not being able to pull into a heartfelt hug, due to the static, and then pulled James away to find their other pokemon and to try to form some sort of plan.

* * *

The urchapodtyltoise soon learnt that its electrical attacks were out of the question, as long as the ampharos, the onix and the two other ground types were around. Instead, the water cannons that were hidden in its shell came to life, rotating to the suitable directions and sending the gushing jets of water at its targets. The golem and graveller were easily thrown back from the velocity, meeting the same fate as the typhlosion and becoming wiped out in a one hit K.O. Vasseur took the opportunity to smirk at his victory, before resuming his struggle with Scott.

The onix weren't as easy, the thicker and bigger one especially. Their combined attacks whipped the beast over with their tails, but all they succeeded in doing was sending the monster sliding back an inch or two. Its armour was certainly doing its job. And after a few more high-powered squirts, so were the cannons.

Ampharos was harder to dismiss. Whilst the water cannons did their job, the urchapodtyltoise's psychic abilities threw the poor ampharos every which way, whilst the blazing stream of fire burnt its body. Polly, desperate to help her friend, joined the poliwhirl in trying to dowse the flamethrower attack. It worked, until the sparking pouches emitted jolts of lightning to finish them off.

The magmar concentrated on the rear, trying their best to burn away the armour that provide thick hides of protection to the body beneath. They too were sent packing, due to the shuddering earthquake attack the urchapodtyltoise produced by one stomp of a thick-set foot. The invisible ripples were successful in their attack to those in the vicinity, provided that they were super effective to the ampharos, magmar and remaining rock types.

"This is going to be tougher than I thought." James admitted glumly, watching as countless pokemon were tossed aside easily. Pokemon that he and Scott had released were fleeing any way they could, desperate not to be injured any more. James couldn't blame them. The urchapodtyltoise had already succeeded in its main goal more than once.

Kelsie seemed to read his mind as a horror-struck look covered her face and she frantically searched for Polly and ampharos' pokeballs. However, they were still in the possession of Scott. James, having kept his pokeballs as well as Kirralie's, returned his unconscious lickitung and fearow. Kirralie's bellsprout lay on the other side of the field, mangled and half-drowned in the swap. She had been utterly destroyed in the early stages when the pokemon were running around like headless chickens. He hadn't even risked releasing the baby pokemon, after watching that.

"We're running out of troops." He noted, slumping to the ground. The golduck Kelsie had brought with her were taking their turn to try to submit damage. Their psychic abilities were particularly useful when it came to dodging the moves the urchapodtyltoise was about to make.

"I have a plan." Kelsie said, suddenly, scanning the air for a certain purple moth. "If he's willing to listen to me." She smiled weakly, knowing it was her own fault. "If not, I have a back-up plan." James gave her a baffled look, but she ran over to the nearest cluster of trees.

"Kelsie, wait!" He ran after her, bumping into her stationary body that was attempting to sweet talk the residing venomoth down.

"Muzzy, I'm sorry." She pleaded. "I don't know why I left you. It was incredibly selfish and foolish, and if I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat. I'll do anything to make it up to you, but right now, I need your help." The moth ignored her, fluttering up onto higher branches, for his safety and to distance himself more from his so-called trainer.

"Muzzy, please!" She sounded urgent, flinching as the monster issued a particularly vicious attack that wounded a golduck severely, puncture wounds visible even from their distance, where the poisonous fangs had sunk into the its body. "We ne-"

She was cut off as a huge pink thing slammed into her, knocking her, winded to the ground. "Wiggly!" It cried, hugging Kelsie's body tight in a bone-crushing embrace. "Wiggly! Wiggly-tuff!"

"Oh!" Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she felt that pang of guilt she was so used to tug at her heartstrings once again. "I missed you too."

Their emotional reunion was in danger of being interrupted, however. The ground shook from every heavy step the monster took, as it headed towards its next victims. Its only victims, beside the human fighting its master. The group huddled by the trees.

"Muzzy," Kelsie sounded much more forceful now, scared that this was it. "Don't do it for me. Do it for the pokemon everywhere. Please." He considered these words and finally gave in, choosing to be a saviour. He drifted down to her level and she gave him a thankful smile before instructing him to use any of his soporiferous attacks to at least slow the monster down.

He took heed; zooming towards the towering bulk. His poisonous spores were released first, as he swiftly dodged the dripping fangs and crackling lightning. He hovered above the head, causing the urchapodtyltoise to sneeze as the spores contaminated the air. The sneeze blew them away and Muzzy had to try again. This time he was stopped. The psychic energy enveloped him and he hung, paralyzed in the air. One of the muscular limbs reached up and grabbed his fragile body, crushing him with such a force he felt he would disintegrate into dust. His trainer's cries fell upon his deaf ears as he was released, swatted away and then stomped upon like the bug he was.

Like three of her other pokemon, Kelsie's venomoth had been defeated. Though, in this case, it was worse. Muzzy was no longer.


	61. Saving the world, part two

_It's becoming a habit for me to include a head note, it seems. I just wanted to apologise to all the Muzzy lovers out there. I had to make someone die and it was between him and Polly. Polly won out, I'm afraid. _

_Also, remember my epiphanies? Well, the second is going to be in this chapter. Anyone who guesses correctly as to what it is will get a special mention. Either in the next chapter (if there is one) or in the alternate ending Syzdoth suggested I include (thanks for that! :) Yay to good ideas!)._

The whole world seemed to stop in time as she crashed into the muddy grass, onto her knees. For what seemed to be the millionth time, every sound that surrounded her seemed to distort together, creating an unintelligible roaring. Her vision blurred from the stream of tears that seeped out of the corners of her eyes.

If it wasn't for James, she would have ran straight out there to get trampled on herself. Just so she could cradle the squashed bug into her arms.

"We need to get out of here!" James' yell washed over her as her hoody collar pressed into her throat, as a result of James holding the back and yanking it backwards. She choked in silence, still trapped in the world where time stood still.

"Wiggly?" Wigglytuff tried her best to help with the tugging and together they managed to pull the girl further along the marsh.

Only to be blocked by a deep pool of sludge. The effort to pull Kelsie along solid ground was proving hard enough.

"Doctor Fletcher!" James yelled, hoping his shouts would prick the ears of the figure just visible in the distance. "What do we do now?" They had never discussed what would happen if their makeshift army failed.

If it wasn't for the fact that the bulk slowed the urchapodtyltoise down, they would be dead by now too.

"Tuff! Tuff, wiggly. Wiggly-tuff!" James looked to his side, wigglytuff was puffing out her cheeks, lowering her head at her trainer. She cried out again, before ramming her head into Kelsie's side and forcing her to the floor.

"Ow!" James smiled, Kelsie had re-joined them at last. "Wha? Sorry." She pulled herself to her feet, still looking stricken. "What's happening?"

James didn't answer, he didn't have to. A gasp made him aware that Kelsie had spotted the decreasing gap between them and death. A bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree and Kelsie just pushed wigglytuff out of the way in time. She wasn't about to lose another team member.

"Wigglytuff, run!" She ordered, pointing to the exit that was far in the distance. The gap was closing still and wigglytuff was bound to get hit, unless she dived in the way. Her pokemon refused, but Kelsie shoved her forward, sidestepping beside her, holding her arms outstretched and acting as a shield. "Run to safety!" She ordered again.

James set Rex the task of being a distraction and the houndoom bounded forward, spitting embers at the cocoon armour. His body dipped low to the ground, allowing him to dodge the fiery blast that escaped the urchapodtyltoise's mouth and the deathly streams of water that shot from the barrels hidden in the shell.

It worked for a short while. Kelsie and wigglytuff were able to slip around the monster whilst it concentrated on the canine sniffing at its ankles. After a few blasts and squirts, it stamped its feet in frustration, emitting the invisible ripples that would become Rex's downfall.

James's skull cracked loudly against the fallen tree and he blackened out, becoming surrounded in a pool of his own blood. Kelsie shoved her wigglytuff forward again and urged her to escape to freedom. Rex landed roughly on his side and failed to get up in time to escape the next blow he received. Poison spread quickly through his body, hazing his sight and messing up his orientation. The monster before him seemed to take a moment to consider as to which move it should use next. Kelsie seized the opportunity and scrambled over to James' limp body, frantically searching his pockets.

"Rex, return!" She cried, pointing a ball at him. The red light shot out, but instead of enveloping the wounded dog, it caused a short, energetic plant to materialize. "Oh crap."

"Oddish!" Oddish cheered happily, spotting Kelsie first. She soon turned to the situation in hand and squealed loudly, narrowly dodging the scorching stream that burnt the grass around her. Kelsie continued her search, desperately, whilst oddish released a glittering mist out of anger.

"Return!" Kelsie zapped her out of harms way and tried another pokeball. Lucky guess. Rex's equally limp body dissolved in the light and Kelsie prayed that he hadn't suffered the same fate as Muzzy. Turning to James, she prayed again.

It was just her and the monster now. Scott and Vasseur were no longer in sight and all of the surrounding pokemon were either dead or unconscious. Kelsie didn't dare release the pokemon that remained in James' and Kirralie's pokeballs.

The veil of stunning spores was easily broken by a flap of the urchapodtyltoise's wings. Kelsie was reminded of her other plan, but given the circumstances, she wasn't about to risk it. Instead, she closed her eyes, willing to accept defeat.

"Hey!" She snapped her eyes open upon hearing the yell and a dull thud nearby. The monster had also stopped, due to some other distraction, just in the nick of times by the looks of things. Its pouches were sizzling.

It turned its head, feeling the wooden chip scrape the fur exposed on its skull. Five other humans, surrounded by a cluster of pokemon, were running its way. It grunted, smoke pouring from its nostrils.

"Yeah, you!" The yells started again, causing a smile to spread across Kelsie's face. "This way brute! Pick on someone your own size!"

It growled deeply from its throat and turned fully, provoked. Kelsie let out a sigh of relief, which proved to be a huge mistake.

The urchapodtyltoise paused and seconds later, a petrified Kelsie was zooming alongside it, encased in a purple glow.

* * *

"Our plan seems to have hit a snag." One of the older trainers stated. Kirralie ignored him, assisting the less confident trainer and Lysander towards the trees, where a bunch of pokemon were sprawled on the ground.

"All you need to do is revive them," She insisted. "Use your blissey to help. We'll protect you. Luke will be the one looking out for you." She pointed to the older trainer who hadn't spoken. His pokemon surrounded him, awaiting their commands. The young girl seemed to gain some confidence at the sight of the huge, upright, blue crocodile, bearing a massive jaw and the sparking, fuzzy, yellow body of an electabuzz.

She nodded and dashed off, Lysander at her heels, armed with revives.

Luke's other pokemon; a grey elephant covered in black hide and a purple imitation of a woman wearing a blonde wig and a red gown, stood with the other trainer's pokemon, next to the other trainer himself, who was named Josh.

Kirralie turned to him and nodded. He opened his mouth in protest, gesturing at the floating body that was Kelsie's, but Kirralie narrowed her eyes. Josh sighed and nodded at his tyranitar, his emerald eyes filled with worry.

Tyranitar stomped forward, hurrying towards the urchapodtyltoise. Josh's other pokemon, along with Luke's, took a step back, waiting for their signals to come.

"You sure?" He asked, rubbing his chestnut stubble, as Kirralie took refuge at his side. She nodded as a response and waited.

Eventually, tyranitar and the urchapodtyltoise came face to face. With a jerk of the head, Kelsie was tossed through the air, landing with a bump on the harsh gravel. She scurried to the side, out of the way, clutching a single pokeball in her fist. She looked up at the sound of footsteps and fell into her friends arms.

* * *

Tyranitar struck first, ramming head first into the urchapodtyltoise's stomach and withdrawing back quickly before he could get bitten. The monster skidded back, forcing dust clouds to rise, dirtying both pokemon's ankles.

It snarled in response and swiped the air, clutching nothingness as it aimed to claw the scaly reptile in front of it. The sizzling electricity struck its rock hard body, not even leaving a scratch. The smoke flaring from its nostrils increased in amount as it became more and more infuriated.

They matched each others roars and slammed into each other. Tyranitar had the speed edge, due to the lack of armour, and managed to avoid most of the bites and scratches aimed his way. The urchapodtyltoise was less lucky, yelling in pain as a chunk of either hair, skin or armour was torn off its body.

The bedlam cause Vasseur to pause and watch the two towering beasts fight to the death, ringing déjà vu and bringing back painful memories. He staggered forward, shaking his head wildly, feeling as though he was trapped in a dream. Tears moistened his face as he slumped to his knees, kneading his eyes with his fists.

He was back in the cave, twenty odd years previous. His mother's mangled body became ripped apart time and time again in front of his eyes as his pokemon stood idly by, ignoring the wrath.

"Do something!" The older Vasseur yelled out, running over to the ignorant tyranitar and trying his best to yank her over to the savage display. His fingers slipped through her arms like he was a ghost, a memory, when in fact he wasn't. The scene he was forced to relive was.

"Save my mother!" He cried, slumping down again, elapsing into a fit of tears for the first time in his adult live. His body rocked as he was forced to watch the horrific display one final time. "How can you just stand there?"

Tyranitar finally moved, once the ripped body had been disposed of and the ursaring had turned to her. Her roar brought Vasseur back to the present day and he looked up to see the battle of tyranitar and ursaring, however deformed it was, once again.

"TRAITOR!" Vasseur's cries were almost as loud as he was compelled to run forward and brandish the dagger he had used to penetrate Scott's body several times. This time he aimed for the tyranitar.

"No!" He ignored the cries that filled his ears as they all merged together and he sliced an open wound into the reptile's back. It roared and spun round, its tail slamming Vasseur into his creation. The urchapodtyltoise took no notice as to who the man was. Its blood lust created a red haze in its eyes and it struck its new victim over and over any way it could.

Out of overwhelming fear, Vasseur raised his arms, still clutching his dagger, over his face, crying out for mercy. A final blow, a stomp from the heavy-set foot, ended his life, as his arms were forced down onto his chest as he was crushed and the dagger speared his flesh, becoming lodged deep into his body.

The pokemon battle resumed, the two savages continuing to take chunks out of one another, and Vasseur's dead body lay in the dirt, forgotten.


	62. Alas, the end has come

_I've only had three reviews thus far, none of which guessed at what my epiphany was. Though, thanks is in order to Mileyangel321 for pointing out the irony of Vasseur's death. To be completely honest, I didn't even mean for it to be ironic, but I guess my mind decided to plan it unintentionally. ^^, Anyway, I won't tell you just yet, just incase anyone does decide to guess._

* * *

"Change of plan." Kirralie announced, helping Kelsie limp towards the safety of the untouched humans. Well, human. Luke had stuck to the younger girl's side, keeping his promise to protect her and Lysander. Not that the urchapodtyltoise was batting so much as an eyelid at them. For now.

"What?" Josh sneered, fixing his gaze upon the two girls. "But our plan was a great one!"

"This one's better." Kirralie argued simply. "All we need is for your poliwrath to soak that thing and then for Luke's jynx to freeze it temporarily." Josh furrowed his brow in confusion, still sneering slightly at the idea that had been announced. Like that was going to finish the monster off.

"There's more to it than that." Kelsie assured, noticing the look on his face. "But we don't have much time. So we've spared you the finer details." She ignored the older boy's sulky expression and waited for Kirralie to dash off towards Luke's pokemon to give them the signal.

Josh called back his tyranitar, rather unwillingly. However, his pokemon seemed grateful and retreated back to his trainer's side happily, the urchapodtyltoise following behind, eager to finish him off. It had managed to get in a lot more damage since it had destroyed its master, seemingly spurred on by the death. Its various fire attacks, occasional squirts of water, psychic abilities and combined attacks that its wings could produce were able to wear tyranitar down bit by bit.

As soon as tyranitar had retreated, the elephant sped onto the scene, curling up into a tight ball and rolling around the perimeter of the urchapodtyltoise's vicinity, in order to attract its attention. It worked, the beast dropped its gaze at tyranitar, stopped walking forwards and concentrated on trying to zap the donphan. Successfully distracted, Kirralie then ordered the poliwrath forward.

He looked to his trainer, Josh, for confirmation. Josh nodded, but still didn't look happy. His tyranitar idea had been better. His thoughts dissolved, however, as the sky darkened and rain began to fall, all due to his pokemon's rain dance.

"What's he doing?" Kirralie cried, looking panicked. The rain was going to have disastrous consequences if one of the urchapodtyltoise's thunder bolt attacks hit.

"It's the only water move he knows." Josh explained. "I was planning on teaching him surf until you showed up." He sounded smug, but managed to keep his face perfectly balanced.

"What now?"

"Here." Lysander was running over, Luke's feraligatr outstripping him. "We could see you struggling from over there." He grinned. "Luke said you could borrow Jaws." He struggled to keep a straight face.

"Thank you."

"Hurry, that donphan looks like its wearing down." All eyes swivelled back to the battle scene. It was true, donphan's rollout attack was slowing down and it was narrowly barrelling out of the way of the fatal attacks that were no longer electrical, but the water attacks it was so weak to, twice as effective thanks to the rain.

Josh went back to sulking. His screwed up face earned him a look of contempt from Kelsie. He didn't seem to be taking the situation as seriously as it was. It was just some way to pass the time to him.

"Give me a hand." She hooked her arm around Lysander's neck for support and steadied herself on one leg; her good one. She nodded encouragingly at Kirralie and whispered; "Good luck." whilst raising her eyebrows at Josh. Kirralie giggled.

"Where are we going?" Lysander asked.

"To find Scott of course," Kelsie answered, ignoring the scowl Lysander expressed. "And to check on James." Her face paled, but she urged Lysander forward, keeping her worries to herself.

"Ok feraligatr," Kirralie said, turning back to the plan she and Kelsie had discussed. "Water gun, now!" The pokemon did as it was told, taking a deep breath and striking the urchapodtyltoise with a continuous stream of water.

It turned, the fur on its head dripping water, along with the rest of its body. Donphan sped over to the trainers and flopped onto the ground, exhausted. "Quick jynx, now!" Kirralie yelled as the feraligatr retreated.

As quick as a flash, the jynx was by Kirralie's side, humming heavenly. She twirled a few times, out of habit more than anything else, and then opened her mouth. A tiny ball, glowing with blue energy, materialized, increasing in size like a bubble-gum bubble.

The ball exploded, transferring into a beam. It struck the urchapodtyltoise's body, before it had time to act, instantly freezing it from the touch.

* * *

Scott was laying in a dried out, hollow pool that had been re-filled with mud. His right eye was swollen shut, almost pulsating given its size. His body was covered in dirt and blood, both dried up and fresh. Kelsie could make out the many cuts and grazes that were the source of his leaking fluid.

Lysander gently lowered Kelsie to the ground and then set off in the direction she pointed out, where James lay. She scrabbled around in the mud, digging for his buried arm and pulled it free once found. He had a pulse, but it was faint.

"Is he ok?" Kelsie's head shout up at the wheezy sound.

"James!" She cried happily, a smile breaking out on her scuffed face. He grinned back groggily. "You have to get him to the pokemon centre." Lysander nodded.

"What about him?" He sighed, not really understanding as to why he was concerned.

"There's a pulse." Kelsie replied. "Maybe that guy can help you take them back." She took over supporting James, leaning on him also so that she didn't put pressure on her, presumably broken, ankle, so that Lysander's arms were free to carry Scott.

"What about you?" He asked, once they were ready to carry on. "You need to be checked over too."

"I will be." She assured him. "I need to take care of that first." She nodded at the monster. Lysander stared at its frozen body, a frown becoming visible on his face.

* * *

"Just in time." Kirralie grinned, once Kelsie had staggered back over. Her smile faltered, however, once she caught sight of the body she was supporting. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"Don't worry, he'll be ok." Kelsie's voice contradicted her words. She didn't sound so confident. James had fallen unconscious once again and the last few feet had been a struggle to carry him on one leg.

"Here." The weight was lifted and she turned to smile gratefully at Josh. Kirralie remained looking worried. "Good luck, yeah? I'll leave my pokemon here with you."

"Thank you." Kelsie collapsed, gratefully, onto the floor and waited for Kirralie to spring into action. She didn't. She remained gawping at the four men walking away. "Kiz?"

She didn't respond. Kelsie sighed, pulling herself up yet again, muttering something along the lines of; 'doing everything herself'.

It was lucky she decided to act when she did. The frozen sculpture of the urchapodtyltoise started to wobble gradually, the ice beginning to melt. Kelsie ripped the pokeball hanging off of Kirralie's belt and released the pokemon that was inside. Once free, Kelsie scooped him up in her arms and hurried over to the frozen form.

"Once inside, use thunder, ok?" She whispered, feeling the tiny pokemon's head bump against her arm as it nodded. They waited for the ice to completely melt, which only took a few more seconds due to the increase in wobbling and the urchapodtyltoise's regained ability to use fire attacks, before Kelsie slipped Kirralie's pichu into the shell.

"NOW!" She yelled, hobbling away as fast as she could. Pichu's cry caused her to slam into the ground as she dived out of the way for the last few feet and she was thankful to see that, on the other side of the field, Kirralie had done the same, snapping from her trance.

She jerked her head back at the sound of the tremendous roar that came from the monster. It was thrashing about wildly; its body flailing due to the static charge that swam through its body. Kelsie watched the sparks fly from every inch of the shell, spitting upwards towards the wings. Pichu followed, just in time, as the urchapodtyltoise collapsed on to its back, roaring again.

"Piiiii-chuuuuuuuu!" The clashing sound of thunder was louder than anything Kelsie had heard that day. The sky flashed brightly and soon after a deathly strip of lightning forced its way through a break in the clouds, striking the bulking body. It juddered, loud crackles of electrical energy both audible and visible as it rippled through every vein, deformed limb and nerve, before ceasing completely, bring the cease of destruction with it.

* * *

James Rose went on to become the Indigo Plateau League champion for both Kanto and Johto regions, winning with his team of; Rex, the houndoom, his fearow, his sneasel, a newly caught azumarill, a newly caught scyther and a newly evolved bellossom (completely oddish's choice, not his).

Kirralie Cerise, not wanting to snatch away his moment of fame, challenged the league of a brand new region- Sinnoh. She emerged victorious and became the champ with her team of clefable, pikachu, togekiss, jumpluff, and dewgong. They occasionally battle for fun, not wanting to de-throne one another, ending in a draw- three wins each.

Lysander Roan finally accomplished his dream of becoming a professor of pokemon, conducting research into the development of new creations. Having been forever scarred by his experience with Vasseur, he stuck to mostly studying breeding types and tampering with embryos, just like how mewtwo became created. He is very well respected.

Chas Flaxen and Anson Lovat, the pokemon poachers, along with their connections- Akita and Yorito Tundra of the Day-care centre- were tracked down and arrested. After much searching, all of the surviving captured pokemon were returned to their rightful trainers.

Liana Rose's ranch became a popular tourist attraction as well as **the** place to get new starters, thanks to James' hometown becoming the newest pokemon region, made famous by the champion himself. Once more and more aspiring trainers heard that the champ had gotten his starter there, they wanted to too.

Scott Fletcher gave up practising medicine and medical research. He concentrated on becoming a pokemon healer, just like Nurse Joys everywhere, encouraged by his wife, Kelsie Fletcher. He dreams of becoming the Doctor Dolittle of the pokemon world, thanks to his newfound love of looking after and treating sick and injured pokemon.

Kelsie decided she had far too many adventures for her liking and settled down to help her husband develop new cures for pokemon. Having freed her pokemon- ampharos, Polly and wigglytuff- from their pokeball chains, she now lives in harmony with them and her typhlosion, in a cosy little cottage in Scott's hometown- Kanto.

-**The End**-

* * *

*_Sighs* That's it. Just the alternate to upload now, along with any sketches I receive. Feel free to do one if you wish. I just want to say thank you for all of your support and reviews you've submitted, it meant, and still means, a lot. Thank you to:_

_-Syzdoth_

_-Stonekipsta_

_-Frizz.22_

_-Mileyangel321_

_-E Muja EN -KittenThatAteSora-_

_-WildCroconaw_

_-ShadowJolteon _

_..LoVe _

_-Adurna Rider of Kveykva_

_-KiwiGuy2010_

_-so-they-say_

_You all rock!_


	63. Alternate ending

_Hello! Welcome to the final instalment of LSI. It's very sad : ( _

_Anyway, this is the alternate ending. Technically, it was going to be the original ending, due to the twist. However, I wrote the actual biographies of everyone a while ago and therefore chose to allow them to live and not implement any signs of the twist the alternate ending features. But I'm happy to allow for you to choose this as the actual ending if you prefer it._

_The epiphany was what a lot of people referred to as the ironic death of Vasseur. Although, I didn't see the irony until it was pointed out. Originally, he was going to be killed by either Scott or James._

_Also, the battling isn't going to be as drawn out this time. The whole purpose of the alternate ending is to point out the changes._

_Lastly, still no sketch. I would advise you all to keep your eyes peeled for a new chapter once I receive it. Or them, if anyone else wants to submit one. My email address is on my profile, so you can contact me that way, or just include a link in a message or something. I don't know, lol. :)_

_Enough rambling. Enjoy!_

* * *

-**Alternate Ending**-

…"It's perfect." He whispered, his eyes lighting up from the surge of electricity crackling in the electrical pouches. "Get some sleep. As soon as Dawson returns you will begin its revival. Obliteration begins tonight." Vasseur's brow furrowed as he reminded himself of Dawson's lack of return, but he disguised it with a curt nod and hurried back to his office.

Scott watched him leave, his mouth half open in protest. His eyes flickered to the pokemon on the operating table and he watched its chest rise and fall, thoughts of destroying it flashing through his mind.

But, as he turned his back on it to put away the used medical equipment, the disturbing image of flashing cameras and news crews praising him for his magnificent creation ran through his mind. All that fame, all that glory… it was much better than using it to implement Vasseur's dirty work.

What would happen then, once he managed to destroy every single pokemon on earth? Destroy the beast, that took a lot of blood and sweat to make, also? Surely imprisoning it in some cage for it to be marvelled at was better? Still cruel, yes, but at least the entire pokemon population would still be saved and all of his hard work wouldn't have been for nothing. Surely, as the creator, the pokemon's rightful master, he had the right to choose its fate?

Convincing Vasseur would take some work, though.

* * *

Scott awoke several hours later, after spending restless hours tossing and turning, dealing with the arguments and counter-arguments that filled his thoughts. How could he succumb to something so avaricious? Especially after feeling so strongly against the cruelty that was being demonstrated in the very building he resided in. Truthfully, it made him no better than the man he despised.

However, his counter-arguments were rather compelling. To him, anyway. It made sense, after all that work, dedication, sacrifice. Not that the pokemon used had sacrificed themselves willingly. Truth be told, after all this time he had kind of grown fond of the beast he had created. He didn't want it used as some kind of slave for Vasseur's destruction. And he certainly didn't want it just struck off. If he kept it he wasn't sure of how to look after it. So, logically, putting it on display was the most decent conclusion he could think of. Other than releasing it.

After much deliberation, and a satisfying dream of glory and riches, Scott set out to sneak out **his** creation before Vasseur could awaken.

However, Vasseur was already in the lab by the time Scott arrived. He had been overcome with worry about where Dawson and Alastair were. Not about their wellbeing, as if he would ever attach himself emotionally to another human again. Or pokemon, for that matter. No, he was far more concerned as to why they hadn't returned. Had they switched sides? Had something happened?

"Doctor Fletcher?" Vasseur jumped at the at the sound of approaching footsteps. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to know what was going to happen to me, now I've finish what you've asked." Scott lied, thinking fast on his feet. Although, it wasn't that much of a lie. The thought had crossed his mind, before his new idea had taken reign.

Vasseur didn't respond straight away. He seemed to ponder the question, strolling casually around the sleeping wonder. "Are you going to kill me Vasseur?"

"You know, my initial offer still stands. Work for me, help me save the world from these savage beasts. We're better off without them. Just think, an everlasting amount of pokemon at your disposal, your dream, your destiny, coming true." The words rolled off of his tongue with ease. For some reason, it sounded a lot better than they had originally. So much had changed since then. Deep down he was disgusted with himself for succumbing, yet, for some unknown reason, he gave into the appeal.

"No thank you Vasseur," He smirked. It came as no surprise to Vasseur that Scott was refusing his offer once again, but the deranged look upon the man's face was quite a shock. He looked odd. "I have my own plans."

Scott walked over to the magnificent being, pushing past the stunned figure of his former boss. Not that he ever thought of Vasseur that way. He had always thought of himself working for the pokemon, to save them, than as working for Vasseur. Especially as he was now planning on reclaiming his work as his own.

"What are you doing?" Vasseur sounded alarmed. He strode forward, yanking Scott back from what he was doing, believing that he was trying to destroy his creation instead of resuscitating it.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Scott spat back, shoving Vasseur against the wall. That was only possible due to his shocked state. "I'm awakening it."

"I thought you wanted no part in what I was doing?"

"I don't. I told you, I have my own plans." The beast's eyes flew open as Scott stood back, his work now fully complete. It growled as it looked around, sounding rather like a scared canine taking in unfamiliar surroundings. Both men moved out of the way, standing in awe, allowing the beast to become accustomed.

"Fantastic work," Vasseur breathed out, watching in amazement as the being tried and tested its stiff legs, taking wobbly steps forward. "Truly amazing Scott, I-" He cut off spluttering, whipping his head round to face the man beside him in incredulity. He gasped, his hands scrabbling to his chest, feeling the sharp, metal instrument that had been lodged into his lung. "What…?" He struggled to draw breath, falling back against the wall behind him and sliding down to floor in a state of giddiness. His cheeks, filled with very little colour usually anyway, drained, leaving them a ghostly chalk-white. His steel eyes became dull, but wide and staring.

"I'd leave it in if I were you. Unless you'd rather end it right now." Scott spat viciously, stepping over the bleeding body. He turned to his creation and beckoned for it to follow him as he left the room, ignoring the faint murmurs Vasseur managed to wheeze.

* * *

The imprisoned pokemon fled in fear, once they had been released. They had grown more and more mistrustful of the doctor as he continued his work for Vasseur and seeing him with the disfigured creation that contained various body parts of many tortured pokemon only increased their fear and misgivings. Scott let them run, after all, he wasn't interested in them. He was going to attempt to track down the owner of the Safari Zone when it once was. If anyone could help him with a tourist attraction like the urchapodtyltoise it would be him.

He stored the pokemon away in his study whilst he headed up to Vasseur's office to start his search. He had much more resources than anyone else in the building. But after half-an-hour of searching, Scott gave up and made plans to travel to Pewter to try and strike a deal with the museum curator.

He headed back down, only to find the place empty and the entrance doors ripped off of their hinges. Somehow, when he was in Vasseur's office, he had missed the chaotic noises and mayhem.

Burnt grass filled his nostrils as well as his vision as he hurried outside. Cries of humans and pokemon alike were coming from the corner. He forced his way through the overgrown hedgerow that blocked the way and stumbled upon the Safari Zone remains that were filled with most of the pokemon he had released, along with his creation and two humans. One of which he recognised.

"You did it!" James cried happily, a rough smile breaking out onto his worn face. Clearly a battle had commenced sometime ago. Scott was still at a loss of how he hadn't heard a thing. From what he could gather, from looking around, most of the pokemon were trying to flee and his marvel was trying to inflict the destruction Vasseur had so longed for.

"Did… What?" Scott responded, blinking rapidly in confusion.

"You released the pokemon!" James cheered. "However, it seems we need to deal with this monster." He didn't give Scott time to respond as he was called away by the unknown girl who needed help with the beast. Her pokemon, most of which pre-evolutions, were trying to keep the urchapodtyltoise at bay. James ordered his pokemon forward too and started to help as Scott watched on, enraged at the fact they were trying to hurt his magnificent invention. He was completely oblivious to the damage it was dishing out.

Scott strode forward, leaping over wounded bodies of beaten pokemon. James was wrenched back and the terror on his face went ignored as Scott lashed out in blind fury.

"What the hell are you doing?" James yelled, ducking as Scott swung back for a second time. Scott didn't answer, but continued to take swings at James while he continued to duck and weave.

Spurred on by the display of violence, the urchapodtyltoise roared loudly, stamping its feet and knocking anyone in the vicinity flying as invisible ripples shot through the air. Its pouches crackled dangerously as a sign and a huge surge of fire shot forward as it released a deadly flamethrower attack, burning those in reach. It hurried forward, as it lusted for destruction, for obliteration, for blood. Kirralie went flying as it swatted her out of the way. She slammed into a nearby tree and blackened out. Perhaps it was for the best. That way she wouldn't be forced to stand back and watch the obscenity she wouldn't be able to stop.

The pokemon James had described as a monster came to a standstill in front of the two men struggling against each other on the floor. James was looking worse for the wear, especially as he had been jumped on for what he believed for no reason.

Sensing how tired he was becoming, Scott pulled away and stood up. "Finish him." He ordered, wanting to test the obedience of his precious creation. He should have realized that something so incredulous as the urchapodtyltoise wouldn't be the type to be willing to obey. Just like most of the wild pokemon used to create it, it too was destined to live off of its own free will.

With an almighty roar, both men were thrown back with a swipe of its heavily armoured arms. Before they could even get up, they were struck with an overwhelming surge of electrical power over and over again. Miraculously, James was able to stand once the attack had seized. Scott's lifeless body lay to his side and James didn't give him a second glance as he turned to stagger away, only to stabbed in the side by the venomous fangs the urchapodtyltoise wielded.

* * *

…It was lucky Kelsie decided to act when she did. The frozen sculpture of the urchapodtyltoise started to wobble gradually, the ice beginning to melt. Kelsie ripped the pokeball hanging off of Kirralie's belt and released the pokemon that was inside. Once free, Kelsie scooped him up in her arms and hurried over to the frozen form.

"Once inside, use thunder, ok?" She whispered, feeling the tiny pokemon's head bump against her arm as it nodded. They waited for the ice to completely melt, which only took a few more seconds due to the increase in wobbling and the urchapodtyltoise's regained ability to use fire attacks, before Kelsie slipped Kirralie's pichu into the shell.

"NOW!" She yelled, hobbling away as fast as she could. Pichu's cry caused her to slam into the ground as she dived out of the way for the last few feet and she was thankful to see that, on the other side of the field, Kirralie had done the same, snapping from her trance.

She jerked her head back at the sound of the tremendous roar that came from the monster. It was thrashing about wildly; its body flailing due to the static charge that swam through its body. Kelsie watched the sparks fly from every inch of the shell, spitting upwards towards the wings. Pichu followed, just in time, as the urchapodtyltoise collapsed on to its back, roaring again.

"Piiiii-chuuuuuuuu!" The clashing sound of thunder was louder than anything Kelsie had heard that day. The sky flashed brightly and soon after a deathly strip of lightning forced its way through a break in the clouds, striking the bulking body. It juddered, loud crackles of electrical energy both audible and visible as it rippled through every vein, deformed limb and nerve, before ceasing completely, bring the cease of destruction with it.

* * *

_Sorry about jumping straight into the end. I wasn't too sure of how to end it and like I said, I just wanted to point out the changes. So basically, Vasseur and the urchapodtyltoise died still, but Scott kind of went corrupt and he and James died also._

_Personally, I prefer the original ending._

_Anyway, till the sketch(es) are available that's all for LSI. I hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you to fortworth96 for reviewing the ending and for saying LSI is one of your favourites, it means a lot. And, as always, thank you to everyone else for your continuous support, reviews and reading :) For the last time in this fic, I will tell you- YOU ROCK! _

_Lastly, a little time to promote my new fic- Evolution. It features James, Kirralie, Kelsie, Scott and Lysander as well as three new protagonists. I would like to point out, though, that it's still in progress of being sculpted properly. So it won't be updated as often as LSI was. There are a lot of things I need to plan out and some things are already being questioned and it's only on chapter two! Lol. Anyway, check it out if you like. Hopefully, I'll see you reviewing soon! If not, I wish you all luck in any future work you produce and for a few of you I look forward to reading future chapters you produce of my favourite fics!_

_Once again, thank you all._

_Best wishes, define-originality. -x-_


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